JBL E55BT Quincy Edition headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

September 2017

The E55BT Quincy Edition headphones take me back to the early days of the headphone boom, when it seemed that the primary goal of headphone brands was to get a celebrity to endorse their products. While endorsements were once common to the point of absurdity -- Soul Electronics sold a model endorsed by Tim Tebow -- these days they’re rare. I think the E55BT Quincy Edition ($199.95 USD) is the first set of celeb-endorsed headphones I’ve reviewed in about four years.

In this brave new world of Wi-Fi-driven audio, there is no understating the importance of a robust home Wi-Fi network, and in our move from northern Virginia to coastal Carolina we’ve met the issue of robustness head on. We’ve completely revamped and upgraded our Wi-Fi network, which now includes a dual-band range extender so that even the farthest reaches of our new house produce all four bars on the Wi-Fi signal strength indicator. As a precaution, I also put into effect Plan B and had every room in the house wired with Ethernet -- RJ45 ports with CAT5 cabling -- because, as good as Wi-Fi is, it can be maddeningly unpredictable. As it turned out, Plan B was essential to reviewing Bluesound’s Pulse Soundbar and Pulse Sub.

Tidal Force Wave 5 headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

August 2017

In the last several years, new headphone brands have seemed to emerge almost weekly. It used to be we reviewers would roll our eyes and ignore the latest press release touting a celebrity endorsement, or boasting of a headphone’s “Xtreem!” bass, or trying to lure us with flashy styling. We figured these mass-market products wouldn’t appeal to most of the people who read our reviews. Lately, though, we’ve seen more new brands focus on the audiophile segment. One is Tidal Force, which just launched its first headphone model: the Wave 5 ($299 USD).

Monoprice M1060 headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

August 2017

The audio industry is now seeing two clear, opposing, concurrent trends in product development: a race to the top and a race to the bottom. The race to the top is evident at any hi-fi show, where demos are dominated by amps and speakers priced in the mid-five figures. The race to the bottom can be found on the Internet, where high-value audio specialists fight to see who can most dramatically undercut audio’s storied brands. The Monoprice M1060 headphones ($299 USD) exemplify the latter trend.

“Schiit happens.” It’s not the sort of language usually found in an owner’s manual for a headphone amplifier like Schiit Audio’s Jotunheim ($399 USD). No, an owner’s manual is usually full of bland marketing copy, loosened rules of grammar, regulatory warnings, and stultifying technical detail. I almost never use them, and unless you’re a novice audiophile, neither should you. The folks at Schiit seem to agree. In the preface to their safety instructions, they state: “The following is required by the roughly 9,542 government agencies and regulations we have to comply with. If you have some common sense, they should seem pretty straightforward.” Who are these guys? I did some digging.

HiFiMan Susvara headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

July 2017

Trying to judge the HiFiMan Susvara headphones on the basis of only their performance and design is as hopeless as trying not to think of an elephant. Once you see the Susvaras’ $6000 USD price tag, there’s no way to banish from your mind this question: “How can a set of headphones be worth so much?”

Libratone Q Adapt On-Ear headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

June 2017

My acquaintances in the headphone business often blame the mediocre performance of most noise-canceling (NC) headphones on Bose, which I’m told holds patents on most of the best technologies and techniques. But as digital signal processing (DSP) chips keep shrinking and getting more powerful, we’re starting to see some headphones that approach the awesome noise-canceling powers of the Bose QC25s and QC35s while providing better sound quality, more features, and alternative form factors. Libratone’s Q Adapt on-ear headphones ($249 USD) are one of this new NC generation.

Brainwavz B200 earphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

May 2017

Reviewers should beware the influence of manufacturers’ marketing copy, but we’re human and fallible. So a press release promising that a new set of earphones is “tuned to produce a balanced and accurate sound signature, with little to no coloring in the sound” still piques my interest, even when I know manufacturers’ statements aren’t reliable indicators of their products’ performance. But the Brainwavz B200s ($199 USD) have a couple of things going for them that lend credence to the company’s claims.

1More Quad Driver earphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

April 2017

Headphone enthusiasts were surprised last year by the debut of the 1More brand. First, they were shocked by the low prices: 1More offered its Triple Driver hybrid balanced/dynamic earphones for just $99.99 USD, one-third the price most companies charge for such a product. Then they were surprised to find that the Triple Drivers included a generous suite of extras: six sizes of eartips in silicone and three in foam, plus a very nice and practical travel case. And they were stunned to hear how good the Triple Drivers sounded -- far better than all but a few earphones costing less than $200.

Bowers & Wilkins P9 Signature headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

April 2017

In 1966, John Bowers and his friend Roy Wilkins established B&W Electronics Ltd. -- the seed money had come from an elderly lady who’d been deeply impressed with Bowers’s knowledge of classical music and the quality of the speakers he’d built for her. The same year saw the development of B&W’s first loudspeaker, the P1. Now, 50 years later, Bowers & Wilkins has grown into one of the world’s best-known loudspeaker brands, with a huge variety of products and a distribution chain that spans the globe. Its 50th year saw the redesign of B&W’s flagship 800-series speakers, and the introduction of their first flagship headphones model: the subject of this review, the P9 Signature ($899.99 USD).

Audeze iSine10 earphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

March 2017

I’ve been reviewing headphones and earphones since 2008, but the Audeze iSine10s are the first I’ve encountered that create their own category. The iSine10s ($399 USD with Lightning and analog cables, $349 with analog cable only) differ from all other earphones not only in their sound, appearance, and the way they work, but even in the ways you’ll use them.

Few companies have the technical chops or the commitment to get into the headphone biz the way Blue Microphones did a couple of years ago. Its first headphones, the Mo-Fis, combined a radically new design, a fresh technical twist, and superb sound quality. Blue’s new Ellas ($699 USD) replace the Mo-Fis’ conventional dynamic drivers with planar-magnetic panels, which have enjoyed renewed attention thanks to the recent efforts of such companies as Audeze and HiFiMan.

The Canadian company Axiom Audio has established itself as a mainstream loudspeaker brand, and over the years has greatly expanded its product line to cover all facets of audio, including computer speakers, in-wall and in-ceiling and center speakers, omnidirectional speakers with sophisticated DSP modules, and power amplifiers. Now Axiom ventures into wireless speakers with the AxiomAir N3 ($799 USD). As with many of their other designs, Axiom’s take on this hotly competitive market segment is innovative and unique, promises better sound quality than typical Bluetooth speakers, and great value.

Beyerdynamic Amiron Home headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

January 2017

The Beyerdynamic Amiron Home headphones represent a welcome reaction against recent trends in high-end headphones. In my opinion, many high-end headphones focus on making a dramatic first impression rather than offering a pleasant experience over the long term. Many are heavy, which might not bother the listener in a quick demo but could make the ’phones exhausting to wear for an hour. Some use uncomfortably strong clamping force to achieve a firm seal around the ear. Many are unnaturally trebly, which, in the short term, gives the impression of extra detail and spaciousness but often proves fatiguing in longer listening sessions.

Audiofly AF1120 earphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

January 2017

We audiophiles think of ourselves as sophisticated, discerning consumers, but the “more is better” trend in earphones makes me wonder. In this case, “more” means more drivers. You can now buy earphones, such as 64 Audio’s A12s, with as many as 12 drivers per earpiece. Yet you can also buy high-end earphones, such as Sennheiser’s IE 800s, with just a single driver per ear. And, of course, you can get models in between, such as Audiofly’s six-driver AF1120 earphones ($699.99 USD).

As our new house on the North Carolina coast was being built, one of the things Mrs. East and yrs trly decided was that this winter we weren’t going to shovel snow. If you’ve shoveled snow, you get this. If you haven’t, it’s like jail -- something you don’t want to experience. So what better way to adapt to coastal life than to rent a beach condo? One thing we’ve learned over many years of summer Carolina Beach rentals: Good luck getting one with anything close to acceptable audio. With good reason, seasonal landlords don’t trust renters with anything but the cheapest, most rudimentary audio and/or video gear.

HiFiMan HE1000 V2 headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

December 2016

Why are they reviewing these headphones again?

If you’re thinking that, I don’t blame you. At a glance, the HiFiMan HE1000 V2s look just like the HE1000s, and the original price of $2999 USD remains unchanged. Look closer, though, and you can see that the V2s are different in many ways. The HE1000s have been my reference for high-end headphone sound ever since I reviewed them in October 2015. I had to wonder why HiFiMan had changed them, and what effects those changes would have on their sound.

Final Sonorous III headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

November 2016

Final is a brand from Japan that specializes in exotic, high-end headphones decorated with lots of shiny metal bits. I’ve seen Final headphones at a few headphone shows, but otherwise have rarely encountered them. That’s true of a surprising number of small headphone companies, which seem to do most of their sales through the Internet. When I found out about the Sonorous III headphones, a closed-back design priced competitively at $399 USD, my curiosity was piqued.

Beyerdynamic T 5 p headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

November 2016

The new, second-generation version of Beyerdynamic’s T 5 p headphones embodies three trends I’m happy to see. First is a new interest in closed-back, audiophile-oriented headphones. I generally prefer the open-back sound, but many audiophiles must listen while surrounded by the sounds of family members or office colleagues, and open-back models let all that noise through. Second is an apparent trend toward a more natural, less treble-heavy voicing in audiophile headphones, which I noted in my review of the Sennheiser HD 800 S ’phones. Third is a trend toward greater sensitivity in audiophile headphones, to make them more practical to use with smartphones and tablets.

Compact, portable DACs that plug into a laptop’s USB port, extract up to 24-bit/96kHz digital audio using the jitter-eliminating asynchronous protocol, and provide amplified output for headphones and line-level output for preamps, are common enough these days. But in 2012, when AudioQuest introduced its first DragonFly DAC, the concept turned heads. The most attention-grabbing element was no doubt that the DragonFly was the size and shape of a USB memory stick. That such tiny hardware could make possible the playback of high-resolution audio through headphones -- not to mention a high-end audio system -- seemed nothing short of amazing.

I’ve dreamed of wireless speakers for years. For one, I’ve always been owned by at least one cat, and, well, what you’ve heard is true: Curiosity can kill cats. I’ve had more than one sail through its first four or five years of life showing no interest in wires -- then, suddenly, the left channel starts to fry, and close inspection reveals a chewed wire. Fortunately, none of my feline friends has chewed anything carrying current heavy enough to kill.

Audeze Sine headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

September 2016

Most new headphones are just permutations of past designs. Not the Audeze Sines. They’ve got two genuinely unusual, perhaps even unique, features. First, they’re an on-ear design with planar-magnetic drivers -- the first ever of this type, Audeze claims. Second, they’re available with analog and digital cables.

Sennheiser HD 630VB headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

September 2016

There can be no doubt that Sennheiser is one of, if not the, best-known headphone brands. The company offers models for every conceivable application, ranging in price from under $20 to the flagship HD 800S ($1699.95 USD). Sennheiser is also one of the few brands that is both familiar to the mass market and respected by audio engineers and audiophiles the world over.

Optoma NuForce HEM8 earphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

August 2016

How many drivers do earphones really need? I’ve heard models with as many as eight per ear. I’ve also heard excellent earphones that have just one driver per ear. With their HEM earphone models, Optoma NuForce lets you decide. You can get the single-driver HEM2s ($119 USD), the two-driver HEM4s ($299), the three-driver HEM6s ($399), or the four-driver HEM8s ($499). All share the same enclosure shape and features. When NuForce asked which I wanted to review, I opted for the top-of-the-line HEM8s.

As anyone who has recently visited an Apple Store can tell you, iPhone protection is big business -- a high-quality phone case can easily cost $50 to $70. Another big iPhone-related business is headphones -- something that an iPhone owner checking out the Bose, Beats, or B&W options at that same Apple store can readily confirm. The argument in favor of a good case is easy to make -- fixing a broken iPhone can be startlingly expensive (yet another iPhone-related business). But what good, ultimately, are pricey headphones if the sound delivered by your iPhone’s headphone output is, at best, mediocre?

The speaker designed for desktop use is a category that seems to be in flux. A few companies specialize in desktop designs -- Audioengine comes to mind -- but most mainstream speaker makers have either missed the boat or taken a pass on the opportunity to make a statement in this category.

AKG N60 NC headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

July 2016

When it comes to noise-canceling headphones -- which are designed specifically for travel -- audio reviewers focus almost entirely on their sound quality and on the efficacy of their noise canceling; they rarely consider portability. My guess is that most of these reviewers don’t travel much, and don’t consider how much of a drag it is to have to lug a huge headphone case along. I do travel a lot by air, and I also spend a lot of time on public transit. That’s why the AKG N60 NC’s predecessor, the very similar K 490 NC, has been my favorite noise-canceling headphone since it was introduced, in 2012.

When, in the 1950s, Eichler installed the first whole-house intercom/radio system in a tract house, it jump-started a fascination with the notion that you could listen to your favorite radio program anywhere in your home. The marketing went something like this: “With whole-house audio, no matter where you are -- kitchen, laundry, den -- you [the stay-at-home mom] don’t have to miss a word of [insert favorite show, song, etc.]” Of course, it helped if you didn’t mind the horribly tinny sound quality, or the limitations of the AM radioband. The convenience sure beat having a tabletop radio in every room -- even if you already had a tabletop radio in every room.

Focal Sphear earphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

June 2016

With the Sphear earphones ($149 USD), Focal has become the first high-end audio company to attempt building a product as good as a Bose model. Yeah, I wrote that to rankle audiophiles a bit -- but regardless of what you think of the sound of Bose headphones, there’s no denying that they’re comfortable, and that’s the part Focal is trying to match. A frequent traveler, I believe that the comfort of headphones and earphones is as important as their sound. Getting deeper into the music you love is what high-quality audio is all about, and you can’t get deep into any music when your earlobes feel as if they’ve been worked over by Manny Pacquiao.

Until recently, the product category of loudspeaker had seen little change outside of relentless tweaking by designers trying to refine its basic capabilities. Now, like almost everything else, it’s been absorbed into the Internet of Things and forced to undergo some reinvention. Most people associate wireless audio with Bluetooth speakers: affordable, portable, decent-sounding (good ones, at least). But in the past few years other options have emerged that can tap your home’s Wi-Fi network to deliver an even better wireless music experience than a typical Bluetooth speaker provides.

Recommending pairs of loudspeakers to audiophiles and to non-audiophiles are two different propositions. It’s analogous to selecting the right bottle of wine to bring to a friend’s house for dinner. If the friend is a wine aficionado, the task becomes a tedious, labor-intensive process that includes trying to remember if she likes red or white, light- or full-bodied, Old World or New World, and so on. In every other circumstance the decision is far easier: $12-$15 USD, cool label, done. Up until 2010 or so, Audioengine’s A2 ($149/pair) and A5 ($349/pair) powered speakers were my go-to suggestions for audiophiles and non-audiophiles alike, and for good reason. The speakers looked good, were easy to set up, and sounded great for the money, with surprising amounts of bass.

Quebec’s Simaudio has been designing and manufacturing audio electronics for the past 35 years. The company began with preamplifiers and power amplifiers, and later, following the demands of the market, added CD players and standalone digital-to-analog converters (DACs). More recently, Simaudio has launched a series of components incorporating their Moon intelligent Network Device (MiND) platform, which enables streaming audio from your computer, network-attached storage (NAS) device, or the Internet. It should come as no surprise, then, that Simaudio has brought their electronics-design experience to the thriving market of headphone audio -- with first their flagship 430HA fully balanced headphone amplifier ($3500 USD; add $800 for DAC option), and now the subject of this review, the more modestly priced Moon Neo 230HAD ($1500 including DAC).

It’s not often that most enthusiasts and professional reviewers agree about a set of headphones, but it happened in 2009, when Sennheiser’s model HD 800 ($1399) was introduced. “I don’t love them, but I respect them,” one of my favorite reviewers told me. Most people thought the HD 800s sounded admirably spacious, but lacked sufficient bass and seemed to highlight flaws in recordings. I heard them at a couple of audio shows and came to the same conclusion -- in fact, after hearing so many initial reports saying the same thing, I decided against reviewing them, worrying that I’d have nothing new to add to the conversation.

With their HP-2 headphones, RBH Sound -- intentionally or otherwise -- makes a bold statement: Nobody gives a damn what your headphones look like, so neither should you. Instead, you should care what they sound like and how comfortable they are.

That is exactly the approach RBH took with the HP-2s. The industrial design is fairly generic, reminiscent of Bose’s model QC25. RBH seems to have invested, in top-notch drivers and comfortable padding, all the money they might have spent creating a new design. The drivers use diaphragms made of beryllium, a metal often used in high-end tweeters because it’s extremely light yet stiff. (It’s also brittle and toxic, which is why manufacturing with it is expensive.) The padding, covered in soft plastic, has the look and feel of what you’d see on headphones four times the HP-2s’ list price of $249 USD.

An ideal world would be meritocratic and egalitarian. Appearance wouldn’t matter. What truly counted would be what was inside each of us. Somewhere in the mooted multiverse such a reality probably exists, but it’s not the one we currently inhabit. Here, not only does one’s physical appearance matter, it’s been suggested that more good-looking people will, all else being equal, be perceived as more intelligent, friendly, and competent than the less good-looking. In fact, studies have shown that, on average, the better-looking get hired and promoted more often, and are paid more. Whether that’s fair or unfair, it might behoove me and you to get into better shape, shave regularly, and wear clothes that actually fit.

I can’t believe I’m reviewing $1799 headphones that are considered a step-down model. The HiFiMan Edition X is a less-costly version of HiFiMan’s flagship headphones, the HE1000s ($2999), which I recently reviewed and truly loved. Except for color and materials, the Edition Xes look almost identical to the HE1000s, but they’re intended as a more practical product. Not only do they cost $1200 less, they’re touted as being sensitive enough that any smartphone can drive them.

JBL Everest Elite 700 measurements can be found by clicking this link.

February 2016

The JBL Everest Elite 700s are the most technologically advanced headphones I’ve tested. I can’t think of a significant feature they don’t have, but the most innovative is TruNote automatic calibration. TruNote uses an internally generated test tone and an internal microphone to evaluate the acoustical effects of your ears, and tunes the Everest Elite 700s’ frequency response to compensate for those effects. It’s basically a headphone version of the auto-calibration technologies, such as Audyssey MultEQ, found in most A/V receivers. This feature was launched earlier this year in the N90Q ($1499.95 USD), from AKG -- which, like JBL, is owned by Harman International.

Klipsch Reference X20i measurements can be found by clicking this link.

January 2016

When non-audiophiles see something like Klipsch’s new Reference X20i earphones priced above $500 USD, they’ve got to wonder how something so tiny could be worth so much. For that price, you can buy a TV or a digital SLR camera -- something that looks as if it costs $500. But the X20i’s don’t appear to be substantially different from Klipsch’s R6 earphones, which cost only $79. What makes them worth $549 -- nearly seven times as much?

A price of $349.99 USD might seem high for a medium-size Bluetooth speaker, but the KEF Muo isn’t just any Bluetooth. With its release, KEF enters a new realm of speaker manufacturing -- namely, of portable wireless Bluetooth speakers -- while upholding its longstanding reputation for making great-sounding audiophile speakers.

Box and specs

The Muo is available in Neptune Blue, Light Silver, Sunset Orange, Storm Grey, or Horizon Gold, and comes in an oblong box of heavy cardboard. The top lifts off to expose the speaker, covered in clear plastic -- nice plastic, not the blister-pack style that rips your fingers. Lift the Muo to discover its accessories: a braided USB-to-Micro-USB cord, three power adapters that allow you to charge the Muo from your home’s power grid, and a quick-start guide and warranty information.

Definitive Technology Symphony 1 measurements can be found by clicking this link.

December 2015

A few years ago, I’d have been tantalized by the fact that Definitive Technology is getting into the headphone business -- but these days, what mainstream speaker company isn’t in the head-fi biz? Still, I have to admit that I’m impressed that DefTech has jumped in in such a big way. Most speaker companies begin with simple, passive headphones; but DefTech’s Symphony 1s ($399 USD) include noise canceling, Bluetooth, and a direct digital input.

One great thing about the headphone business is that you never know who’s going to rise to the top. RBH Sound, creator of the EP3 earphones reviewed here, is a perfect example. It’s a medium-profile audio manufacturer that never, to my knowledge, strayed outside its specialty -- loudspeakers -- until a couple of years ago, when it came out with its first earphones, the EP1s. The EP1s were voiced by RBH technical director Shane Rich, a talented speaker designer with no previous experience in headphone design. Although they looked rather generic and had no particularly marketable features or design tweaks, the EP1s won numerous rave reviews, and beat out dozens of big-name competitors in a multi-listener comparison test I participated in.

On-ear headphones such as NAD’s Viso HP30 model rarely appear among audio websites’ top picks. There’s good reason for that. First, it’s difficult to make comfortable on-ear headphones, because the earpads, rather than encircle your earlobes, mash directly against them. Second, it’s difficult to ensure that the earpads seal correctly on the ear -- and without a good seal, it’s impossible to get consistently good sound.

NuPrime Audio continues to carve out its own unique path since being spun off from NuForce (now owned by Optoma, an international manufacturer of video projectors). While Optoma NuForce continues to make lower-priced audio products, NuPrime concentrates on designing components of higher performance yet still high value, including amplifiers based on the highly respected, proprietary class-D architecture first developed by NuForce. One of NuPrime’s first products was the IDA-16 integrated amplifier-DAC ($2600 USD), reviewed for SoundStage! Access in January by Vince Hanada, who liked it so much that he bought the review sample.

I think I like reviewing headphones and mobile audio gear more than I do full-size hi-fi components. The thrill of unboxing a new set of speakers retreats pretty quickly once the outriggers are hooked up, minute adjustments are made to toe-in angles, and the speaker cables are attached. But you live with a pair of headphones. You touch them, grab them, adjust them, and, most important, wear them -- they’re almost as much a fashion accessory as a watch or a pair of eyeglasses. Top-quality appearance and sound are necessary but not sufficient. The quality, durability, and comfort of the materials, the feel of the controls, become much more meaningful when they’re part of a device you physically interact with multiple times a day. A loudspeaker merely shouts at you from a distance.

Try to build the ultimate loudspeaker and you’ll end up with something costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The ultimate pair of headphones, on the other hand, might cost less than a midpriced high-end stereo amplifier. We’ve recently seen attempts at creating the ultimate headphones, including such models as the Audeze LCD-3 ($1945 USD), the Abyss AB-1266 ($5495), and the resurgence of the classic Stax line, which tops out with the SR-009 ($4450). Now come the HiFiMan HE1000 headphones ($2999), from the company that did much to inspire the recent interest in high-end ’phones.

I’m listening on the screened back porch downstairs -- we live out here during the summer -- to Nick Drake’s Five Leaves Left (MP3, Island) from Amazon’s Cloud, wirelessly streamed to my iPad courtesy our home Wi-Fi LAN and heard through an Urban Beatz UB-SPB80 wireless speaker on a Bluetooth feed from the iPad. The only wires in this transaction are the essential ones: the ISP feed via a coaxial cable to the Motorola Surfboard modem, and a CAT6 cable from that to the Apple AirPort router. What I’m listening to isn’t exactly hi-fi -- it’s about the fidelity of a good table radio a rung below, say, the Tivoli Model One -- but it’s monstrously convenient. (Amazon offers its Prime subscribers a terrific feature: When you buy certain CDs, an MP3 copy can be accessed by a proprietary app via the Cloud. Saves lugging CDs and/or FLAC files around on vacation . . . or downstairs.)

I couldn’t even guess how many companies have gotten into the headphone business since 2010, but I doubt any has done it so boldly as has AudioQuest. Their NightHawks ($599 USD) are the result of a from-the-ground-up effort to improve headphone sound. In fact, so much about the NightHawks is radically different that I mention here only their most important features; if you want an in-depth explanation, AudioQuest has devoted to them an excellent microsite.

PSB’s new M4U 4 earphones raise an important question for audio manufacturers: After you’ve achieved near-perfection, where do you go? Before PSB’s founder and chief engineer, Paul Barton, built his first set of headphones, he read all the existing research and did a lot of his own. The result, the M4U 2 over-ear headphones, were indeed close to perfect, according to reviewers. But a manufacturer generally has to offer a complete line of headphones -- and Barton is responsible for designing headphone-related products for two of the audio brands owned by the Lenbrook Group: PSB and NAD. What’s a designer to do? Voice them all the same, so there’s little reason to spend more for the more expensive models? Or make some models sound different from the others?

Bowers & Wilkins P5 Series 2 measurements can be found by clicking this link.

August 2015

Bowers & Wilkins continues to be one of the most popular manufacturers among audiophiles. Mere mention of the name makes me think of hi-fi icons like their Nautilus loudspeaker, and the Nautilus 801 and 802. These speakers were far ahead of their time for their build quality, materials used, and acoustical engineering. Somewhere along the way, B&W made the leap from a pure hi-fi firm to a premium audio company, likely with its introduction of the Zeppelin iPod dock. Since then they’ve moved from strength to strength, offering a variety of wireless speakers, as well as a full range of earphones and headphones. The subjects of discussion here, the P5 Series 2 headphones ($299 USD), are a perfect marriage of old-school hi-fi and class-leading industrial design.

In a recent column, I complained about the rapid growth in the number of lookalike headphone amps that are little more than a DAC-amp chip stuffed into an extruded-aluminum box. The Aurender Flow ($1295 USD) is the exact opposite: a product that represents a major rethinking of what people -- specifically, audiophiles -- need in a headphone amp.

I’m writing this review on a sleek, highly portable Hewlett-Packard Spectre laptop equipped with a modestly sized solid-state drive (SSD) that makes me wish I’d spent the money on a bigger drive. Despite my efforts to move my storage-intensive audio and video files to an external drive, my SSD has just 2.2 gigabytes of space left. Yet thanks to the Flow, I can now use this overstuffed computer to access my entire collection of digital music files, and I can add more music without worrying I’ll run out of space.

In just one year, Oppo Digital has become one of the biggest names in audiophile headphones. The new PM-3 closed-back headphones ($399 USD) follow on the impact Oppo made with its other models, the PM-1 ($1099) and PM-2 ($699). Not only is the PM-3 the least expensive model Oppo has made, it’s their first closed-back model, which opens it up to a much wider audience. Closed-back headphones provide some degree of isolation from sounds around you, so you get less noise and more music. I’d guess closed-back headphones outsell open-back models by 100 to 1.

It’s a good thing most headphones are relatively inexpensive, because they’re the riskiest purchase an audio enthusiast can make. Headphones vary greatly in tonal quality -- more than speakers do, at least according to my ears and my measurement gear. Listeners’ opinions of headphones also seem to vary more than do their opinions of gear in other audio categories. Yet it’s rare to be able to listen to headphones before you buy. Sometimes you can check them out at a headphone meet or hi-fi show, but for the most part you have to rely on reviews written by people who may or may not share your taste in music and/or sound.

NuForce, the California-based audio brand best known for their proprietary class-D power amplifiers, was recently acquired by Optoma Technology, known to many as a major maker of DLP projectors. Also recently, the high-end division of NuForce was spun off as a new company, NuPrime, which will manufacture more expensive products, such as the amplifiers based on NuForce’s high-end, class-D amplifier modules with Cross Matrix Array (CMA) capacitor boards.

NuForce itself will continue to manufacture less costly products, but gone from their product line are many of the very small models -- e.g., the Icon integrated amplifiers -- which were popular for use with desktop systems. However, NuForce continues to offer compact stereo and home-theater components, and high-quality earphones. Thankfully, my favorite NuForce product, the DDA-100 Direct Digital integrated amplifier (discontinued), now lives on as the DDA120, which adds some key new features and a slight increase in price, from $549 to $699 USD.

The new MS 100 BAs -- Phiaton’s first earphones with balanced-armature drivers -- make me wonder once again why there’s not more controversy or disagreement about balanced armatures. Look at all the stuff audiophiles do disagree about: tubes vs. transistors, the benefits (or lack thereof) of high-resolution audio, whether or not cables make a difference. Well, the audible difference between using balanced-armature and conventional dynamic drivers in earphones is much more significant than the differences you’d hear in any of the pairings just mentioned.

Marshall Headphones Mode EQ measurements can be found by clicking this link.

May 2015

How many new consumer-audio brands have emerged in the last seven years or so? I doubt anyone’s counted, but I bet the number has at least doubled, and perhaps tripled. With so many new marques emerging, the entry of the legendary guitar-amp brand Marshall Amplification into consumer audio didn’t get as much attention as it probably would have 15 years ago. That’s sad, because it deserves better.

Having established, over the past 40 years, an excellent reputation for manufacturing affordable yet high-quality audio gear, NAD has recently gained the attention of audiophiles with their Masters Series models, most of them priced at a few thousand dollars -- relatively expensive for NAD models, but not when compared to gear from many specialty-audio makers. And, like other NAD products, the Masters Series models have already become known among audiophiles for providing excellent performance and value, even at their higher prices.

Recently, my attention has been captured by some Direct Digital integrated amplifier-DACs: NAD’s Masters Series M2 and C 390DD. My own budget reference, the NuForce DDA-100, is of similar design. Each of these models sounds fantastic for its price, and I like the idea of keeping the signal entirely in the digital domain, right up until the speaker outputs.

When NAD announced the newest power amplifiers in their top line, the Masters Series, I was surprised to learn that they would be class-D amps with conventional analog inputs, not Direct Digital designs. Also offered are the matching Masters Series M12 stereo digital preamplifier-DAC and M17 surround processor, but these link to the new Masters Series power amps only via analog RCA or XLR connections.

Traditionally, headphone amps have been afterthoughts -- relatively low-cost circuits built into receivers, computers, portable media players, etc. After all, even with relatively insensitive headphones, the amp usually needs to put out no more than 50mW -- 0.05W -- to drive headphones to loud volumes with no audible distortion. But with headphones’ recent surge in popularity, and the concomitant growth in the number of hardcore headphone enthusiasts, many manufacturers have been putting serious design effort and resources into their headphone amps.

Luxury has never much appealed to me. The word can mean an indulgence, something inessential. Both latter terms are anathema to me, which is probably why my audio-reviewing beat has largely been gear that scores highly on the scale of performance per dollar spent. S. Andrea Sundaram recently reviewed Oppo Digital’s PM-1 headphones ($1099 USD), and was so taken with them that they ended up being named a SoundStage! Product of the Year. Andrea not only has discerning ears; he’s a fastidious critic. When it was suggested that I review Oppo’s PM-2, a model for which nearly identical sound quality is claimed (provided the synthetic earpads are used for both models) for a price $400 lower ($699), I jumped.

Founded in 1946, in the aftermath of World War II, Japanese electronics firm Onkyo began by manufacturing phonograph pickups. By the 1970s, Onkyo had established global distribution of a wide range of audio products. Onkyo models are some of the most rich in features for their price points, and the company has the reputation of being among the first to implement certain features -- the world’s first THX-certified audio/video receiver was an Onkyo, in 1994. While today Onkyo makes a full range of products, from Blu-ray players to speakers, they’re best known for their AVRs and amplifiers -- their website currently lists 19 AVRs, from $279 to $2999. These range in power from 60 to 145Wpc, but even more widely in their feature sets: input/output options, processing capabilities, and five, seven, nine, or 11 channels. In terms of processing, the spec sheet for the TX-NR838 A/V receiver ($1199 USD) reproduces no fewer than 31 logos, representing those technologies Onkyo has licensed for this product.

“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” I’m reminded of the old adage even when encountering apparently daring new products from old, familiar companies. Bluesound is a new line of innovative audio equipment from the Lenbrook Group, longtime owners of NAD and PSB, whose pedigree and ability to make great, affordable audio equipment are the stuff of legend. But even after poring over Bluesound’s website, I still had only a vague idea of what their products actually did. So I said, “Send ’em all.”

Turns out they’re simple, elegant turns on products you’ve used and read about for years.

2014 seemed to be the year of the portable high-resolution music player. Pono was finally released, Astell&Kern released the magnificent AK240, and then came the M, from South Korean manufacturer Calyx Audio.

I was asked to compare the M with A&K’s AK240. No way. The AK240 has many functions absent from the M -- though each might be the best in its price category, the price difference is significant. At $999 USD, the Calyx M costs a lot less than the AK240 at $2499, and you get less: no Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, thus no wireless connection to music stored on your computer -- and no form-fitting protective case. But what you do get with the Calyx M is very good, and makes it a reasonably good value . . . once the bugs are worked out.

In the box

The Calyx M comes with a soft carrying pouch and two USB-to-USB Micro charging cables, one short, one long. Its gorgeous copper color is matched by the cables. There’s no quick-start guide -- you download the instruction manual.

At 5.25” x 2.75” x 0.5”, the Calyx M is large -- about the size of a new iPhone 6 or Samsung phone, but thicker. Its 7.7 ounces felt a bit heavy in my hand over long periods of use. The front is almost all screen -- a handsome, 4.65”, high-definition (1280x720) OLED display covered with Gorilla Glass. On a tiny strip below the screen is an “M.” The rear panel is all smooth metal, with Calyx’s engraved treble-clef logo and manufacturing information -- the fine print. Along the top edge are a 3.5mm jack, slots for SD and MicroSD cards, and an On/Off button. On the bottom is the USB Micro jack for charging.

The headphone market is on fire these days, and not just for the “personal audio” mobile market. I can’t recall a time when I’ve seen so many announcements of new headphones and related components. Most notably, the market for headphone amplifier-preamplifier-DACs has exploded and continues to grow. But what if you, like me, already have a DAC you’re happy with, and would rather spend less to get only what you need? Thankfully, there are plenty of standalone headphone amps available, with new ones being launched regularly.

The Italian manufacturer M2Tech first came to my attention several years ago, with their hiFace USB-to-S/PDIF output interface. Since then they’ve broadened their range to include two such converters, four standalone DACs, an ADC, a clock generator, a power supply, and the subject of this review: the Marley headphone amplifier ($1699 USD). Following M2Tech’s custom, the Marley is named for a famous musician, in this case one whose first name was Bob.

Now that we’re almost half a decade into the revolution in portable hi-fi, with enough headphone and earphone models out there to saturate if not drown demand, I didn’t expect to be so taken with an earphones-and-amp-DAC package. But after a month with Alpha Design Labs’ EH008 ’phones ($239 USD) and matching A1 portable USB amplifier ($599), I continue to be surprised by just how much performance can be had for under $1000.

ADL, for short

Alpha Design Labs (ADL) is a subsidiary of well-known Japanese manufacturer Furutech. While ADL already has to its name several headphone models and a standalone DAC, the EH008 represents a new foray, into earphones. Unlike the single-dynamic-driver or multiple-armature designs available from other manufacturers, each side of the EH008s has two dynamic drivers: an 8mm midrange-bass driver directly behind a 5.8mm treble driver. Each is Alpha-Cryo treated in what ADL says is a two-stage process. First, all metal parts are frozen to temperatures below -328°F (-200ºC) with liquid nitrogen and liquid helium. ADL claims that this binds together the components’ individual molecules more tightly, the overall structure thus becoming more stable in a way that relieves internal stresses. This purportedly improves electrical conductivity and, in turn, power and signal transfer.

Ever had to buy cheap earphones when you were traveling because you broke the ones you had? If you have, you might wonder why some earphones cost $500 USD. I’ve bought several cheap sets of earphones over the years, and while a few were breathtaking in their suckitude, most were OK. The $9 set I got at a truck stop in Jennings, Louisiana, sounded shockingly nice -- a little bassy, perhaps, but quite listenable overall. And the amazingly neutral sound of the $15 Panasonic RP-TCM125 creams a lot of $100 models I’ve heard.

But there must be some reason audio enthusiasts buy $499 earphones like the NuForce Primo 8, right? There are. The Primo 8s have not one, but four drivers in each earpiece. These are not the dynamic drivers found in all inexpensive earphones, but balanced armatures. A dynamic driver is basically a miniature version of a conventional loudspeaker driver. A balanced armature is like a little motorized teeter-totter that drives a diaphragm. Balanced armatures are known for more extended, delicate, and airy treble, and, to some extent, for low tonal coloration -- although dynamic drivers, too, can have low tonal coloration, as proved by the Sennheiser IE 800.

In July 2013 I reviewed the Grace Digital Mondo, a portable Wi-Fi player and radio that can easily be moved from room to room. Grace’s Encore ($199.99 USD) is a larger, more solid component that you’ll want to leave in place, but like the Mondo, it lets you experience a world of music and conversation, from stations in your hometown to broadcasts from Australia -- provided you have a Wi-Fi network.

In the box

The Encore comes with a remote control (batteries included), a power adapter and cord, and an RCA-to-3.5mm mini patch cable for optional device connection. The 54-page, single-language instruction booklet is a far cry from the “quick-start” guides that are all you get from too many manufacturers. The Encore’s manual isn’t perfect, however; here and there, it includes instructions for the Mondo instead of for the Encore.

Like them or not, Beats by Dr. Dre can take credit for lighting a fire under the headphone market. Manufacturers of much better headphones and associated gear are now reaping the benefits as consumers explore better alternatives. While the bulk of consumers’ attention seems to be on the portables market, the increased focus on high-performance audio has also shone a light on the burgeoning market in headphone amplifiers, and buyers are taking notice.

Right now, the hottest action in the amplification segment is in the category of headphone amp-preamplifier-DAC, with examples from Benchmark Media, Grace Design, and Antelope Audio (among others) receiving rave reviews. Charging into this space is Oppo Digital, already well known for their excellent-sounding universal disc/streaming players, with their HA-1 headphone amplifier ($1199 USD).

As usual, however, Oppo has not been content to create another me-too product. The HA-1 contains some notable differences from the rest of the herd.

]]>Feature ReviewsSat, 01 Nov 2014 05:00:01 +0000Samsung Level In Earphoneshttp://www.soundstagexperience.com/index.php/equipment-menu/588-samsung-level-in-earphones
http://www.soundstagexperience.com/index.php/equipment-menu/588-samsung-level-in-earphonesSamsung Level In measurements can be found by clicking this link.

October 2014

If someone told you that Samsung was offering new earphones and asked you what you thought they might be like, you’d probably guess a rather ordinary design with a generic dynamic driver and decent sound, for $30 or $40, right? Wrong. Like practically every other TV company lured by the promise of more lucrative margins than the 0.01% profit (give or take a few hundredths of a percent) now common in the TV biz, Samsung is pushing into higher-end audio products. Their new earphones, the Level In, cost a substantial $149.99 USD and are anything but generic.

The Level In -- part of Samsung’s new Level line of mildly upscale portable audio products (which they call “wearable tech”) -- is a pair of three-way hybrid earphones. Each earpiece contains one dynamic driver (basically, a tiny speaker, with a voice-coil, etc.) and two balanced-armature drivers (basically, a little teeter-totter suspended in a magnetic field and connected to a diaphragm). The dynamic driver is there to deliver strong, low-distortion bass, and the armatures to lend delicacy and detail to the midrange and treble. It’s like having a tiny three-way speaker in your ear.

A hybrid design is not an automatic path to sonic nirvana. Samsung had to cram three drivers into an enclosure barely larger than that of a typical dynamic earphone. Then they had to get the sound from the different drivers to blend inside a tiny acoustical chamber without introducing music-marring resonances.

Proof that headphone enthusiasts are a little different from other audiophiles can be found in the very name of the Brainwavz S5 earphones. Could you imagine a $10,000/pair speaker coming from a company called Brainwavz? If you had that name on your room at the Festival Son et Image or Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, I bet most showgoers would silently slip past your door, assuming you’d actually intended to exhibit at the skateboarding show a week earlier.

But Brainwavz has been racking up glowing, five-star reviews on headphone-enthusiast sites, mainstream tech sites, and on Amazon.com, where the new S5 ($129.50 USD) is averaging 4.8 out of 5 stars.

What’s special about the S5? Nothing. That’s not a criticism. If you look at the products page on the Brainwavz site, you’ll find no fewer than 15 completely different earphone models, some of which will probably look familiar. While almost all earphones are actually designed and manufactured by Chinese vendors you’ve never heard of, most of the companies under whose brands the ’phones are sold have a lot of input on the acoustical and industrial design -- and, of course, the more input they have, the higher their cost, and yours. Brainwavz seems to take a different approach, cherry-picking the best designs from original-design manufacturers (ODMs) and making only minor cosmetic modifications. How much tuning of these designs does Brainwavz do? Only Brainwavz and the ODMs know for sure. We do know, though, that both approaches can yield excellent earphones . . . and horrible ones, too.

Ever since the appearance of headphones from Beats by Dre, the gourmet head- and earphone industry has flourished. In the last few years, practically every big name in hi-fi has released its take on what a high-end headphone should be. Bowers & Wilkins, Cardas, Klipsch, MartinLogan, NAD, Paradigm, Polk, PSB -- even Musical Fidelity. I would have thought that the market would already be saturated, yet only recently has the British company KEF, one of audio’s biggest and most-respected names, launched its first headphone models. I suspected that this was due either to caution, or a lack of deep interest in headphones. Neither turned out to be the case.

When iTunes was launched, KEF looked at the MP3 market and chose not to enter it. But studio-quality material has changed all that. So has public opinion about expensive headphones. KEF spent two-and-a-half years in research and tests before bringing out the M500 supraaural headphones ($299.99 USD) and the subject of this review, the M200 in-ear ’phones ($199.99). That’s a long time in this business -- KEF clearly wasn’t interested in rushing to market with a me-too product, but rather wanted to offer headphones that represent what this innovative company can do. Consider their flagship loudspeaker: KEF began designing the Blade in 1998, but it didn’t go into production until 2011. Anyone who’s heard the Blade will probably agree that it’s far sweeter than just about anything else on the market. The M200s promised a lot for $199.99, but would they actually be any better than the dozens of alternatives already available for about the same price?

Definitive Technology is one of my favorite loudspeaker manufacturers -- not only because the company is innovative, but because its speaker line consists of models that punch way above their price class. Not many other speakers costing only $1998 USD per pair can boast the full-range performance of my reference DefTech BP-8060ST towers. Not only that, they sound fantastic throughout their 20Hz-30kHz frequency response, and their footprint is very small. What’s not to like?

One of my least favorite consumer-electronics categories is computer speakers -- to me, almost all of them sound bad. I remember hooking up a pair of plastic computer speakers through 1/8” minijacks to my computer’s soundcard -- an experience memorable for all the wrong reasons. So when Editor-in-Chief Jeff Fritz asked if I wanted to review Definitive Technology’s Inclines, I was at first apprehensive when I heard the phrase desktop speakers -- it sounded to me like computer speakers. But this was Definitive Technology, and I was intrigued to hear what the company could do in this category. And the Incline’s price of $399/pair set my expectations high.

Oppo Digital is best known in North America as a manufacturer of high-quality DVD and Blu-ray players. In fact, many reviewers will suggest that consumers interested in disc players start, and usually end, their search with a model from Oppo. And in 2014, Oppo entered the thriving personal-audio arena with a DAC-headphone amplifier, the HA-1 ($1199 USD), and two headphone models: the PM-2 ($699) and the subject of this review, the PM-1 ($1099).

Description

Like the very well-regarded models from Audeze and HiFiMAN, Oppo’s PM models are planar-magnetic designs. As in dynamic loudspeakers, the drivers in dynamic headphones consist of a conical or dome-shaped diaphragm with a coil of wire affixed to it, this assembly sitting in front of a permanent magnet. Current passing through the coil induces a magnetic force that interacts with the magnet to drive the coil and diaphragm back and forth. In a planar-magnetic driver, a conductive path is bonded directly to a thin membrane, which is placed in a field generated by multiple permanent magnets, usually placed on both sides of the diaphragm. Current along the conductive path again creates magnetic flux to move the diaphragm. All else being equal, the lower mass of the planar-magnetic diaphragm will let it respond more quickly and accurately than a dynamic driver. Driving the planar-magnetic diaphragm over its entire area also reduces breakup modes, improves phase coherence, and reduces distortion. The diaphragms of planar magnetics also tend to be larger than those found in dynamic headphones, which means they will move more air for a given displacement. The PM-1s’ oval diaphragms each measure 85 x 69mm, giving them a radiating area nearly four times that of a 40mm circular diaphragm, and 15% larger than that of the Audeze headphones.

Astell&Kern has made quite a rumble with its earlier models of portable media players, the AK100 and AK120. With the AK240 they’ve created a model that seems to know no bounds. It’s a high-quality piece that you won’t be ashamed to plug into your main audio system, yet you can carry it with you almost anywhere. And it costs a bundle -- $2499 USD.

Description

Inside a classy black slipcase of construction paper is a box of black wood, and nestled inside that is the Astell&Kern AK240. Printed on the back of the slipcase, in lieu of the usual ad copy, are, in several languages, a brief description of the AK240 and its specifications. Lifting the player out of the box reveals two compartments. In one is a leather case; in the other are a USB-to-USB Micro charging cord a little over 3’ long, a quick-start guide, and warranty information, the latter in very small type that I found hard to read without a magnifying glass. There’s no printed instruction manual -- you have to go online and download it. One year (90 days for accessories) seems an awfully short warranty period for such an expensive portable media device.

The case is made of Minerva leather, tanned in Italy, and carries an official seal and certificate number to guarantee its authenticity. As it ages, it reveals unique veins and wrinkles, and feels soft yet durable in the hand. What impressed me most was that, even after I’d removed and reinserted the AK240 in its case a dozen times, it still fit the AK240 like a glove; it hadn’t stretched.

New Acoustic Dimension, aka NAD, is a brand well known to audiophiles. Beginning in the late 1970s with the 3020 integrated amplifier, the once-British, now-Canadian company has developed a reputation for solid-performing, high-value electronics. Like many other manufacturers, NAD is now moving beyond its traditional two-channel audio and home-theater products to address, with its Viso products, the booming market of compact desktop and personal audio gear. A recent addition to the range are the HP50 headphones ($299 USD).

Why is an electronics company making headphones? NAD is part of the Lenbrook Group, which also includes loudspeaker manufacturer PSB. The HP50 shares its DNA with PSB’s well-regarded M4U 1 and M4U 2 headphones, which designer Paul Barton developed using the resources available at Canada’s National Research Council.

Bowers & Wilkins, the iconic British speaker manufacturer, made their first foray into nontraditional hi-fi with the Zeppelin iPod speaker dock. That product was a great success with their established customers who wanted a small and simple one-box system for a second room, but perhaps more important, it introduced the brand to a whole new demographic. In 2010, B&W unveiled their first headphone design, the P5, which also proved successful with critics and consumers. They followed that up in 2011 with the in-ear C5, which included some genuine innovations in terms of both fit and sound signature. In 2012 came the lightweight, on-ear P3, and in late 2013 B&W introduced their first full-sized, over-the-ear headphone model, the P7, which retails for $399.99 USD.

Description

Bowers & Wilkins’ industrial-design team knows not only how to make an attractive product, but also the importance of unified brand styling. In many ways, the P7s look like a bigger version of the P3s. The rounded, oblong earcups are leather wrapped, and the brushed-aluminum metal ovals that extend out from the center of each have black-anodized end caps with the "Bowers and Wilkins" name engraved. A pair of stiff, stainless-steel wires swoop back and up to connect the earcups to the headband via sturdy metal hinges that allow the cups to fold up for carriage. This arrangement makes for minimal materials and clutter, without the headphones feeling at all fragile. Instead of a plastic case, B&W provides a semirigid pouch that is leatherette on the outside and quilted inside. Taste in such things varies, but I found the total P7 package classier than that of any of its competitors that I’ve seen.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about my CD collection. Even after tossing jewel boxes, tray cards, and booklets -- and, after ripping them -- I still have a lot of CDs. But basically, they’re worthless -- except to me. Then there’s the collection of songs stored on my computer. They’re mostly Apple Lossless files, but also 256kbps MP3s I’ve purchased, and even some AAC files ripped at 128kbps before I knew better, and at every rate in between. I think a lot about that collection, too. I also think a lot about putting my collections aside in favor of a streaming service, such as Spotify, which would allow me to act on my impulses to hear albums or songs I don’t own, but would discourage me from spending needlessly to achieve the same goal. J&R Music World is closed, and I don’t feel so good myself.

Apparently, Simon Lee of April Music, in South Korea, thinks about these things too. Because with his newly improved Aura Note “all-in-one music center,” the V2, he’s thought of just about everything.

The headphone biz sure has changed in the last few years. Obviously, lots of companies have been getting into it, but that was 2011’s trend. Today’s trend involves what’s been happening to those companies that have been at it since then. Some of them are getting better.

It’s no secret that many, perhaps most, companies that have recently entered the headphone market began by slapping their logos on models made by some faceless original design manufacturer (ODM) no consumer in the Western Hemisphere has ever heard of. What’s happening now is that some of those companies have decided that, in order to compete, they have to get serious. Mass-marketers such as Beats, House of Marley, Skullcandy, and others have brought in heavy-duty engineering talent and spent tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on test equipment. As a result, their ’phones are getting better, with a more consistent “house sound.”

I don’t know if or how Audiofly has added to its engineering resources over the last few years, but it’s obvious that this Australian company has learned a lot since it entered the market in 2011. Its first earphones had an appealing industrial design and pretty good sound overall, but I found that their sonic signature varied from model to model.

The French company Focal may be best known to audiophiles on this side of the pond for their flagship Utopia line of loudspeakers, formerly sold under the JMlab brand -- but this large hi-fi company has, for decades, been manufacturing a full range of loudspeakers, from the very affordable to the ultra expensive.

While continuing to serve its core market of speakers for two-channel and home-theater systems, Focal has more recently embraced small desktop speaker systems and headphones. Their first headphone model, the Spirit One ($279.99 USD), is a compact, sound-isolating design with a warmish sound, and some extra bass to compete with ambient noise. In late 2013, Focal introduced two new headphones: The Spirit Professional ($349) is built to take the abuse of the pro-audio world and render a flat, detailed sound, while the subject of this review, the Spirit Classic ($399), was designed both ergonomically and sonically for audiophile listening at home.

At CanJam 2009, in Los Angeles, Alexander Rosson and Sankar Thiagasamudram showed off a new headphone prototype. Two things made these headphones stand out from the variety of do-it-yourself contrivances usually found at CanJam: though Rosson and Thiagasamudram used a commercially available enclosure, the driver was entirely their own -- a rather rare planar-magnetic design. By the end of that year, the two had organized themselves into a company they named Audeze (pronounced Odyssey) and come out with their first salable product -- the LCD-1 headphones.

In 2010 the LCD-2 ($1145 USD) was introduced, and that’s when the headphone community and professional reviewers really began to take notice. Not only was the sound surprisingly good for a product from a brand-new company, it was something very different from what other headphones offered: denser, more robust, and comfortably warm. The next few years saw incremental changes to the LCD-2 and the launch of the higher-end LCD-3 ($1945), which has a thinner, lighter diaphragm and is claimed to sound more transparent. The latest creation from Audeze, debuted at the 2013 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, is the LCD-X ($1699).

The planar-magnetic driver might need a bit of explanation. The drivers in typical dynamic headphones are similar to those of conventional loudspeakers: a dome-shaped diaphragm with a voice coil affixed to it. Current flowing through the wire induces a magnetic field, which interacts with the field of a permanent magnet placed behind the coil -- the electromagnetic force causes the diaphragm to move back and forth, and the resulting compression and rarefaction of air produces soundwaves.

Established in 1994 in Vicenza, Italy, Pathos Acoustics has become widely known as an innovative manufacturer of fine audio electronics with stunning industrial designs that are as eye-catching as their sound is wondrous. Guided by a design philosophy that declares that each new product must have a technical advantage over similar gear in its category, as well as an arresting look that announces it as something unique, every Pathos model exudes postmodern Italian sophistication.

When I visited Pathos for SoundStage! Hi-Fi in September 2007, I saw this rigorous standard applied to each product made, and came away impressed with the company and the leadership of its founders: research-and-development director Giovanni Borinato; Gaetano Zanini, who fine-tunes the products and is responsible for production; and industrial designer Paolo Andriolo. It was a treat to witness Pathos’s meticulous manufacturing processes: the exposed inner complexity of the Endorphin CD player (like a pod of Abu-Dhabi condos), heatsinks being cut and polished, a case being machined for the gorgeous InPol2 amplifier.

So when SoundStage! Network publisher Doug Schneider asked, soon after the 2013 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, if I’d be interested in reviewing the new Aurium headphone amplifier ($1495 USD), I jumped at the chance, not only already confident in the quality of the product but also intrigued that, after 20 years in mainstream audio, Pathos was now expanding into head-fi. I expected to be delightfully surprised.

Furutech, a Japanese maker of audio accessories, has been on a tear lately through its Alpha Design Labs (ADL) brand. When I reviewed their Esprit USB DAC, in April 2013, I found it a great-sounding, versatile addition to a small home system. To supplement its home-audio USB DACs, ADL has also introduced a series of portable DACs and a pair of headphones. The subject of this review, the X1, is the smallest and newest DAC-headphone amp of the three in ADL’s line. At $479 USD, the X1 packs some high-end technology into its diminutive case.

Description

The ADL X1 is designed primarily for use with Apple devices -- not coincidentally, at 4.6”L x 2.7”W, it’s close to the size of an iPhone or iPod Touch. You could easily place it under an iPhone and bind them together with a couple of rubber bands. The X1 has a clean, classy appearance: brushed-aluminum face, rounded corners, and inset switches. The X1’s sides are finished in a rubbery material -- it won’t easily slip out of your hands. The only odd feature is the rotary volume control at the right of the faceplate -- the other switches can’t be inadvertently bumped, but the volume control, which doubles as an on/off switch, is vulnerable.

To say that Paul Barton set the audio world on its ear when he introduced the PSB M4U 2, his first headphone design, wouldn’t be exaggerating. Before Barton created the M4U 2, he read all the research he could find about voicing headphones. This led him to design the M4U 2 with a response that, while somewhat idiosyncratic, made many other headphones suddenly sound a lot less good. Barton was attempting to better re-create the sound of real speakers in a real room, and according to most listeners, he succeeded. He called his new voicing RoomFeel.

Since then, Barton has incorporated RoomFeel into more headphones, including the PSB M4U 1 and the NAD Viso HP50, both of which have gotten rave reviews. Now he’s incorporated RoomFeel into a pair of earphones: NAD’s Viso HP20 ($169 USD).

The HP20 is obviously a serious effort, incorporating Barton’s voicing, elegant and rather macho-looking (for earphones, anyway) industrial design, and a machined-aluminum shell that encloses each 8mm dynamic driver. It’s available in black or silver finish.

In Chicago last spring, at the 2013 Audio Expo North America (AXPONA), I browsed the demo tables of head-fi and desktop gear. I was especially interested in reference-level headphones, as I was looking to upgrade from my tried-and-true Sennheiser HD 650 ’phones. The genial Sankar Thiagasamudram, president and co-founder of Audeze, invited me to try both the Audeze LCD-2 ($1145 USD) and LCD-3 ($1945) headphones. Both models impressed me, but especially the LCD-3’s seemingly full-range sound with symphonic music. I’ve found that symphonic music is extremely difficult for any system to reproduce, let alone headphones. Sending to my ears a high-resolution recording of Mahler’s Symphony No.6, the LCD-3s got the strings right -- not only the top notes of the violins, but also the midrange lushness of the cellos and the gravitas of the double basses in their lowest register. Not long afterward, I asked to review them.

Description

In contrast to conventional headphones, which use cones similar to the dynamic drivers found in most loudspeakers, the Audeze LCD-3s have planar-magnetic drivers. In this technology, instead of a voice coil, a circuit is directly printed on a thin diaphragm, with an array of magnets on either side. These diaphragms are far lighter than the cones in conventional headphones (e.g., my Sennheiser HD 650s). When the circuit is energized with an audio signal, the diaphragm’s interaction with the magnets produces an electromagnetic field that pulls and pushes the diaphragm back and forth, which rarefies and compresses the air to produce soundwaves. In theory, a planar driver can produce faster, more coherent sound than a cone because the diaphragm moves “as one” rather than, like a cone, beginning from the center outward, which makes cones more susceptible to breakup at higher frequencies. In addition, since the Audeze driver is so large, the excursion it needs to move a given amount of air is far less than a conventional cone would need -- which also, in theory, should result in less distortion.

Hybrid earphones -- with one dynamic and one or more balanced-armature drivers -- seem like a great idea. You get the punch and power of a dynamic driver for the low frequencies, and the detail and delicacy of a balanced-armature driver (or two or three) for the midrange and treble. The best of both worlds! Great plan, huh?

Not so far, at least. Before I got Sony’s new XBA-H1 ($149 USD) into my ears, I’d tried three hybrids: the Audiofly AF78 ($209), the AKG K3003 ($1299), and the Scosche IEM856md ($249). Only the Audioflys struck me as a good buy, and I can’t say they were necessarily any better than the best conventional earphones in their price range.

Making a hybrid is tough. You’ve got to cram two differently shaped drivers and maybe a crossover circuit into a tiny enclosure that can slip into your ear canal, all without introducing acoustical obstacles that add ugly-sounding dips and peaks. But Sony’s one of the very few headphone manufacturers to make its own balanced-armature drivers (most others buy them from Knowles Acoustics), so it may know some things the competition doesn’t.

Last March, I gave the Logitech Harmony Touch universal remote control a positive review, but noted some things that might be improved. Now comes the Harmony Ultimate, in which almost everything left unfinished in the Touch is resolved.

Description

Included with the Harmony Ultimate ($349.99 USD) are a Harmony Hub, two IR Mini Blasters, a charging station, a USB cable, two AC adapter cords, a start-up manual, and warranty information.

The Harmony Ultimate itself looks almost identical to the Touch; it’s the same size (7.25”L x 2.25”W x not quite 1” thick), though at 4.8 ounces it weighs slightly less than the Touch’s 5.7 ounces. The Ultimate looks just as sleek and gleaming, has the same buttons, and the icons for each Activity and device can still be customized. The battery is still not serviceable by the consumer; when it dies, the device dies.

There is, however, one big difference from the Touch: a bulge on the Harmony’s bottom, about 2” from the front end, that guides the hand forward so that the thumbs can more easily reach the hard buttons -- play, pause, skip, and record -- above the screen. I still need two hands.

NuForce, based in Fremont, California, is an interesting company for the audio enthusiast. They first staked their reputation on a patented class-D amplifier design with a switching power supply. Although pricey -- their cheapest monoblocks cost $2500 USD per pair -- they sounded as good as anything I’d heard. NuForce has since made inroads in almost all ranges of sound and price, as I found out when I reviewed their Icon uDAC-2 combo of headphone amp and DAC ($129). The company now has a bunch of models that are extremely affordable, including the DDA-100 Direct Digital amp ($549), which Roger Kanno favorably reviewed for SoundStage! Hi-Fi.

Somewhat in the middle of the road, pricewise, is the subject of this review -- the AVP-18 surround-sound processor ($1095). NuForce has stripped down the feature set of the typically bloated audio/video receiver to provide a minimalist home-theater pre-pro that an audiophile can love.

In 2013, Sherwood, formerly Sherwood Electronic Laboratories Inc., celebrated its 60th anniversary -- a rare event in the home-audio industry. The company was founded in Chicago in 1953 to manufacture an amplifier designed by Ed Miller. Its first products were tuners, integrated amplifiers, and receivers with enamel front panels and knobs rather than the toggle switches typical of the era. And inside, of course, were vacuum tubes. By the early 1960s, Sherwood was supplying FM broadcasters with stereo multiplex equipment, and in the hi-fi era was responsible for a few “firsts” -- such as the first solid-state receiver (the 1005, in 1967), and the first FM tuner with a digital readout (the SEL-300). Like much of its competition, Sherwood had moved production to the Far East by the late 1970s. The company now makes stereo and audio/video receivers, iPod docks, wireless speakers, sound bars, tuners, turntables, and disc players. I was sent a sample of the newest of their 11 models of 7.1-channel A/V receivers, the R-807 ($450 USD).

Boston Acoustics is known for making good-sounding speakers, and the MC100 Blue Bluetooth speaker ($149 USD) follows in that tradition. For better Bluetooth sound, it supports NFC pairing and the aptX codec, though it’s not, as its box proclaims, a “wireless Bluetooth speaker” -- it must be plugged into AC to function. That’s about the only nit I have to pick with Boston Acoustics, who are not alone in confusing this issue. We need to adopt language in which Bluetooth means the wireless connectivity of that proprietary audio-signal format, and wireless means a battery-powered product that can be used without being tethered to a wall socket.

That said, the MC100 Blue produces a quality of sound you wouldn’t expect from such a small device, and it looks stunning.

Hong Kong-based Miniwatt burst onto the hi-fi scene in 2009 with a tiny integrated tube amplifier that produced a mere 2.5Wpc -- hence the company’s name. The next year brought a slightly more powerful (3.5W) model, the n3, which still had a footprint about the size of a CD jewel case. While some might scoff at such low power ratings, a few watts are all that are needed to drive a desktop audio system with speakers of moderate sensitivity. Of course, an amplifier requires a source, and if you’re focusing on a desktop system, a USB DAC is the obvious choice.

The Miniwatt n4 ($348 USD) is a 32-bit/192kHz-capable, asynchronous USB DAC with both a 1/8” headphone jack and a stereo line-level output on RCAs. It also includes a coaxial digital output, which allows it to be used as a USB-to-S/PDIF converter. Buttons on the front panel affect both the line out and headphone volumes, and plugging in a pair of headphones mutes the line output -- as it should.

I hate wires! I hate buying them, I hate hooking them up, and I hate the restrictions they place on my audio system. No matter how neatly I try to organize and route them, most of the time they can’t be hidden. On the other hand, I understand a wire’s importance. Heck, I’ve spent thousands of dollars on cables because I wanted to improve the sound of my system.

Ever since my review of the Sonos Digital Music System, in 2007, I’ve known that wireless technology would one day replace some of these troubling wires. The convenience of the Sonos system was incredible to me. It gave me great flexibility of access to my music collection. The only problem was, it was very expensive, and it didn’t give me the sound quality I expected for all the money I spent.

In the six years since, audio has continued to embrace wireless technology, and one of the companies doing that while raising the level of sound quality per dollar spent is Mass Fidelity, founded in 2009 in Ontario, Canada. A “community of audiophiles, designers, and engineers who are united by their passion for music,” Mass Fidelity focuses its efforts on “intelligently facilitating the aggregation of all your digital music collections and sources, allowing you to engage your music in a friendly way across all the devices you use on a daily basis.” The subject of this review is their two-channel Relay Bluetooth receiver with built-in DAC ($249 USD), designed to work with any Bluetooth device that stores or streams music.

Furutech is best known as a manufacturer of high-quality audio accessories, from power outlets to line conditioners to interconnects to connectors. A few years ago, the Japanese company launched its Alpha Design Labs brand to offer many of their signal-transmission technologies at lower cost. ADL’s products are focused on the desktop-and-headphones environment, and include a few models each of DACs, headphone amplifiers, and connection cables. The H118 is their first headphone model ($269 USD).

The H118s are closed-back headphones with earcups just big enough to be considered circumaural. Part of what keeps the earcups small is that they’re in the shape of a rounded triangle rather than a circle or oval; they’re also fairly shallow. My average-size ears fit completely within the openings, but without much extra space. Each earcup is mounted on a plastic yoke that moves in and out of the headband with click-stops, and they fold up on hinges for more compact transport and storage in the included, semirigid, zippered case. The earcups pivot from top to bottom, but not from front to back. Soft leatherette padding on the earcups and headband, combined with the H118s’ modest, 245gm weight, make for a fairly comfortable wearing experience. I did, however, find the clamping pressure sufficient to require a break after a couple hours’ use. Though it feels acceptably robust, the H118s’ matte-black plastic construction looks rather utilitarian.

Portable audio has pretty much been anathema to me, with the exception of a long stretch in the 1990s when I flew around the country to give guest lectures and poetry readings, accompanied by a Sony Discman and a bulky wallet full of CDs. Even now, I don’t jog to the beat of Bruno Mars from an iPod, nor do I cruise through campus with cables dangling from my ears like strings of white tears. Mainly, I used to just listen at home to my reference system or not at all -- unless I had to fly somewhere. Then, I’d plug a pair of Monster Turbines into my iPhone and listen to uncompressed files for however long the flight took, as much to shut out the jet noise and conversations around me as from any wish to hear music. To me, listening this way was not real listening, but a way to pass the time and to keep the outside world from passing through me. Personal audio was a barrier, a kind of wall shored against my ruin.

The Astell&Kern AK120 media player ($1299 USD) has dramatically changed all of that. I take it with me when I jet around, but also find myself using it after arrival -- say, in a European café having an espresso and a cigar -- as well as after my return home, when reading in my study or working at my desk. This player, whose manufacturer claims produces Mastering Quality Sound in a portable package, has introduced me to a new world of pleasurable listening. Premiered at T.H.E. Show Newport Beach 2013 and released early in that summer, the AK120 is one of the sweetest audio gizmos I’ve ever come across.

Early this summer, I took the AK120 on a trip to Prague, where I was teaching, using it first on the long, mid-leg plane flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt, then for the next three weeks in the subways of the Prague metro, late at night in my Vinohrady apartment, and knocking about the quaint and historic streets of Mala Strana and Stare Mesto, in the Golden City on the banks of the Vltava. Then, in August, I took it along on a month-long retreat to an artist-residency program next door to Neil Young’s ranch in the Santa Cruz mountains of Northern California. The AK120 was a superb audio companion, easy to use, and so compact -- about the size of a pack of Gitanes cigarettes, it fit nicely in my pants or shirt pocket. I had my tunes wherever I wanted, in high-resolution and Apple Lossless, too.

One of the equipment reviewer’s jobs is to take gear to extremes: punish it with challenges to see how it performs. So for home-theater speaker systems, we haul out the bad boys of modern film, the action epics with combustible special sound effects, dominant soundtracks, and enough explosions to make Krakatoa seem like a stroll in a sylvan glade. But once in a while you have to remember that most folks have only one system, which also has to play music -- arguably, a more demanding test of any speaker or system. For this review of one of Focal’s Pack 5.1 systems -- this one comprising five Bird satellites and one Sub Air subwoofer -- we’ve split the difference with a couple of movies about music. We’ll see if the Focal system can lift both weights with equal ease.

As soon as I laid eyes on Cardas Audio’s new EM5813 Model 1 Ear Speakers, at T.H.E. Show Newport Beach ’13 this past May, I knew I was in for something special. Cardas’s VP of marketing and sales, Andy Regan, pulled me out into the hall, where he’d set up a demo table outside the Audio Element room, handed me the weighty earbuds, and told me to plug them into my ears and iPhone. I did and, according to report, let out a joyous “Fucking cool!” I can’t remember what track I played, but the sound was gorgeous. I insisted on a review pair on the spot. I had to have them.

Aside from their sound, my immediate impression of the EM5813s ($425 USD) was of how they looked and felt -- the attractive reddish copper color of the metal shells and their seriously solid feel. Made from copper alloy in the attractive shape of a tiny Etruscan urn, the shells strike strong visual notes of density, richness, and craftsmanship. And when they knock together in the hand, I hear a damped, mellow click like billiard balls in quick, precise collision.

Audioengine began as a manufacturer of professional and consumer electronic products for other companies. Eventually they decided to put out audio components under their own name, and in 2005 the company officially introduced their first consumer loudspeaker, the powered Audioengine 5, which was highly regarded and is still available as the 5+. The company’s website currently lists ten consumer-audio products, including desktop and bookshelf loudspeakers, a desktop amplifier, high-performance wired and wireless 24-bit DACs, a powered subwoofer, and the subject of this review, the 16-bit W3 wireless digital-to-analog converter ($149 USD).

The W3 consists of two modules, labeled Sender and Receiver, that look like USB memory sticks. The Sender is a 16-bit USB-powered component with wireless output. It transmits only a bit depth of 16 bits, at a sample rate of 44.1 or 48kHz, but most music-player apps will downconvert 24-bit files or 88kHz and higher sample rates to match the W3’s 16/48 maximum. The Sender is plugged into a computer’s USB port, from which it draws its power via a stubby USB cable maybe half an inch long. A white LED illuminates to indicate that the Sender is receiving power.

I suspect that my initial encounter with Shure’s products was hardly an uncommon one. I’d purchased a third-generation Apple iPod before I began my freshman year in college, and the little guy enjoyed near constant use for the next eight semesters. Also seeing use were Apple’s detestable first-generation earbuds -- three pairs of them, no less. After busting through my third set, I resolved to do better for myself. My junior year saw stratospheric highs and Marianas Trench lows, emotionally speaking, and Shure’s SE210s provided a terrific soundtrack for it all. But for all their sonic strengths, my old SE210s had a weakness -- after a year or two of daily use in all kinds of weather, the insulation around the cord would crack, exposing the bare wire underneath, and signaling that the Shures were nearing the end of their life.

Similarly, I’d enjoyed four years of use from Shure’s then-flagship earphones, the SE530s, when, in 2009, I made the galactically poor decision to quit my job and go to grad school. The SE530s proved wonderful companions as I wrote up endless assignments and, during finals, paced my apartment like a lunatic. In fact, they lasted until March or so of this year, when, like the SE210s before them, their cords’ insulation cracked where they go around my ears.

It’s hardly a coincidence, then, that Shure’s latest and greatest in-ear monitor, the SE535, found its way into my review queue.

To the high-end audio industry it probably feels like forever, but this past April Apple’s iTunes turned ten years old, heralding the end of possibly the most important decade in the history of consumer electronics. No one needs to remind the folks in Cupertino that it was the lowly iPod that turned the struggling computer manufacturer into one of the most successful media companies in the world, and, in the process, completely changed the way human beings purchase and enjoy media.

Our little corner of the consumer-electronics world was a tad slow to respond to this paradigm shift, and those who failed to recognize that smartphones, iPods, and tablets were laying the foundation for personal audio and downloadable media to become the fastest-growing CE product categories of all time watched their business dry up fast. Headphones and portable audio weren’t some fad, but a sustainable business that plowed through four years of a global recession as the rest of the industry suffered.

But while the great unwashed lost little sleep as they abandoned vinyl and CDs for lossy MP3 downloads, for audiophiles, portable audio in the form of a sound dock or wireless system was the ultimate addition of insult to injury, and a poor excuse for a high-end two-channel stereo system. We stuck our noses in the air and pretended that all would be fine in the land of $10,000/pair loudspeakers and $5000 DACs. Do you know who it was fine for? The family ten blocks down, who own a little company called iHome. The garage of their summer oceanfront home could swallow our 3200-square-foot home with room to spare.

The early years of home theater were, for me, ones of disappointment. For all the talk of “surround sound,” the first three generations of HT receivers were underwhelming -- so much so that I gave up on the concept for many years. Why spend all that money and run all those ugly cables for mediocre performance?

Things changed when I bought my first flat-panel TV. Surely, its magnificent 42 inches deserved better sound to go with its HD picture. Still, I looked (and listened) for a long while before deciding on the Anthem MRX 300. That receiver packs more than enough power and features for my HT needs, and sounds terrific. Still, along with an AVR came multiple speakers and their dreaded snarls of cable. My inner two-channel minimalist wondered if a simpler setup wouldn’t work just as well.

For several years now, my reference speaker has been Definitive Technology’s Mythos ST SuperTower ($1999 USD each) -- its performance is so good and so contemporary that I still feel no need to replace my pair of them. My experience with these magnificent speakers made me wonder what the sound wizards in Maryland could do for sound bars. So I requested a review sample of DefTech’s almost-all-in-one home-theater speaker system of SoloCinema XTR powered sound bar with wireless subwoofer ($1999).

If there is a premier icon in the annals of fantasy fiction, arguably it is Edgar Rice Burroughs, who in the course of a 38-year literary career wrote some 70 novels, not least of which were 25 Tarzan adventures and the inimitable John Carter of Mars series. Last year, on the 100th anniversary of the publication of the first Carter story, The Princess of Mars, Disney Studios released John Carter, a megabudget flopperoo of curious non sequiturs and wooden dialogue. I love it. First of all, Carter of Mars is Burroughs at his very best, even if the movie’s story deviates wildly from the original. Second, not even a director who can’t make up his mind between reinventing pulp or crafting a blockbuster epic can mess up Burroughs. Finally, it’s a lovely test for a home-theater speaker system.

The gear

Audio Pro is a Swedish company founded in 1978. The speakers are designed in Sweden, but made in China. The Avanto 5.0 HTS home-theater speaker system ($1499 USD) consists of two FS-20 full-range front-channel towers, a C-20 center-channel, and two S-20 bookshelf surround speakers, each a bass-reflex design with a rear port. The FS-20 tower is a three-way with a 1” dome tweeter, two 5.25” midrange drivers, and a side-firing 8” woofer. It weighs 45 pounds and measures 40”H x 7.5”W x 14”D, its canted plinth sloping it down to 38” at the rear. The S-20 surround is a two-way with a 1” dome tweeter and a 4.5” midrange-woofer cone, weighing 7 pounds and measuring 10.5”H x 6”W x 7”D. The C-20 center-channel, also a two-way, has a 1” dome tweeter with a 4.5” midrange-woofer driver to either side, weighs 10.3 pounds, and measures 16”W x 5.75”H x 7”D.

Although I’m in awe of the vast array of ultra-expensive audio gear reviewed at the SoundStage! Network’s websites, I’m one of the more pragmatic reviewers. I obsess about gear as much as the other reviewers, but I don’t spend vast amounts of money on audio and home-theater equipment. I try to allocate my funds where it will make a significant difference, and to keep my components as long as I can. So when I see a DAC for $10,000, I shake my head: “That’s insane!”

But a company like Cambridge Audio, based in London, England, really impresses me. Cambridge’s line is chock-full of Vince-friendly gear -- from $600 DACs to a line of integrated amps that tops out at $2000, Cambridge is the definition of sensible in the audio lexicon. On their website, the consistent theme is one of sound quality and value. According to Cambridge’s business model, value comes from keeping their R&D in London and their manufacturing in China, where they can maintain high quality at a fraction of the price of manufacture in Europe or elsewhere.

Here I review the Azur 751R upsampling receiver -- “upsampling” giving a hint of the audio engineering that has gone into this model. Although not cheap at $2999 USD, the Azur 751R promises good value and emphasizes sound quality, something you don’t see in mass-market brands.

Just when you thought you had a state-of-the-art video system, along came 3D. Now we hear regular rumblings about 4K video. It’s hard to keep up, so many of us turn to black boxes to tweak our systems into something a little better than they were starting out. Of course, the best thing you can do is to have your set professionally calibrated -- or purchase one of the excellent calibration Blu-ray Discs and do it yourself.

Through having my various monitors professionally calibrated over the years, I’ve learned to back off on the sharpness control. In fact, my current Mitsubishi 65” DLP screen has the sharpness backed off completely. I’ve learned to be wary of video processors. But I’d heard such good things about DarbeeVision’s Darblet DVP 5000 ($349.99 USD) that I was finally temped to try it. After a month with it, I’ve decided that I very much appreciate what it does, yet I see how a purist videophile might find objectionable what its maker calls “an HDMI accessory that will add intense depth and clarity to any video -- enabling ultra-immersive visuals.”

In 2006, when the Blu-ray Disc was introduced, the player of choice for many A/V enthusiasts was Sony’s PlayStation 3, for its many features, frequent firmware updates, and reasonable price. That all changed when Oppo Digital released their first Blu-ray player, the BDP-83, which built on the reputation of their universal DVD players. For $499, the BDP-83 offered a speedy and stable user interface (something that couldn’t be said for many early BD players), support for SACD and DVD-Audio, and state-of-the-art video processing. Ever since then, Oppo players have been the standard for high-performance BD players at reasonable prices.

Oppo has continually advanced the performance standards of first their DVD players and now their BD players. Their latest product, the BDP-105, is the premium offering in their third generation of Blu-ray products. Priced at $1199 USD, it costs a little more than its predecessor, the BDP-95, but adds some useful and unique features, including upgraded video processing.

Usually, when signing up to evaluate audio products, reviewers know what to expect in terms of how to integrate a new component into an audio system. A pair of speakers? You set them up and listen. A power amp? Pretty straightforward stuff.

Then along comes a product like Arcam’s rBlink ($250 USD). I’d read all the information about it that Arcam had sent me before I received the review sample, so I had a general idea of what it was. What I didn’t know was how I would interact with it from day to day, and how it would change some of my listening habits.

What it is

The rBlink is actually two components. First, it’s a wireless device that connects to compatible partners via Bluetooth. For technology-deprived souls, Bluetooth is a wireless protocol developed in 1994 by Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications giant, that permits the exchange of data between equipped devices, fixed and mobile, over short distances. The rBlink allows products such as smartphones and computers to connect to it using BlueCore, the latest Bluetooth-embedded technology from CSR. The result, without getting too technical, is that the rBlink uses the very latest hi-fi-friendly tech for better connection between audio devices, the improvement due, in part, to lower noise.

A few years ago, loudspeaker manufacturer Axiom Audio began making electronics. Their first model was the A1400 class-D power amplifier, in two versions: the eight-channel A1400-8 ($3850 USD) and the two-channel A1400-2 ($2620). Although those amps, both since discontinued, offered a lot of performance for the money, they were a little on the expensive side for A/V enthusiasts on a budget. They also didn’t seem to be budgetary matches for Axiom’s speakers -- their most expensive speaker at the time, the M80, sold for about $1300/pair.

Axiom’s new line of amplifiers, the ADA models, have been designed from the ground up by the company’s new chief designer, Andrew Welker. While there were only two A1400 amps, there are 21 ADA models. The new line is actually based on three “power supply platforms” -- the ADA-1500, ADA-1250, and ADA-1000 -- which deliver different levels of power and can be configured with from two to eight channels. While the ADA-1500 amps are priced similarly to the A1400s, the ADA-1000s start at only $980 for the two-channel version, and $1340 for the five-channel version provided for this review.

And so it begins . . . again. For decades, system- and component-tuning products have been offered to enhance our listening experience without directly touching the audio signal being reproduced. With computers replacing more and more conventional source components in high-end audio systems, it was inevitable that we’d see products directly aimed at the unique needs of computers. Atomic Audio Labs (AAL) enters the coliseum to do battle with other gladiators trying to survive in a society where the dollars of patrons are as hard to come by as fresh Twinkies or Suzy-Qs.

AAL’s George Chronis got started as a manufacturer of FireWire 800 cables. The concept of the Mac Platform was born, as are so many good ideas, from a coincidence. Chronis placed his Apple Mac Mini computer on his turntable platter and noticed an immediate improvement in the sound. That sent him on a quest for the best combination of materials he could find to boost the sound quality enough to justify his product’s anticipated retail price. The result is the Mac Platform ($349 USD), machined from handpicked 4’ x 8’ sheets of cast clear acrylic.

MartinLogan is a loudspeaker manufacturer based in Lawrence, Kansas. Founded by Gayle Martin Sanders and Ron Logan Sutherland, the company is best known for their extensive line of electrostatic speakers. In 2005, ShoreView Industries, a private-equity firm that also owns a stake in Paradigm, bought MartinLogan. Although the design staff is still based in Lawrence, much of the manufacturing has been moved to Paradigm’s facility in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Electrostatic (ESL) speakers are renowned for the lightning-fast transients that audiophiles crave. To the non-audiophile, electrostatic speakers simply look cool. However, they’re expensive to make -- it’ll cost you about $2000 USD to take home a pair of the cheapest ESLs made by MartinLogan. MartinLogan recently introduced its Motion line of entry-level models, with traditional cabinets and conventional cone midrange-woofers. What sets the Motions apart from most entry-level speakers is their tweeter, MartinLogan’s Folded Motion Tweeter (FMT), said to sound similar to electrostatic drivers. For this review, MartinLogan sent me a 5.1-channel system based on the Motion SLM, a thin-profile on-wall speaker.

Unwrapping the Harmony Touch, Logitech’s new beauty of a universal remote control ($249.99 USD), got me thinking about the history of remote control, and of how far things have advanced in my lifetime. When my folks bought our first TV set, the closest thing they had to a remote control was me. When my dad wanted the channel changed or the volume lowered, he’d ask me to do it. I would dutifully get up, walk to the set, and fulfill his wishes. Ten years later, our audio and video gear finally began to come with remote controls. At first these were connected to the components by wires and controlled only very basic functions. But very rapidly, or so it seems now, remotes added more and more buttons and were able to control all of the functions available on the front panel of the components they commanded. Later, when remotes began to control functions omitted from those front panels, it became a case of “lose the remote and lose control.”

By this time, remotes were included with virtually every audio and/or video component. We’d gone from no remotes to way too many -- at one time, six were lined up on my coffee table. In 1985 came the first universal remote, from Magnavox, and in 1999 the formation of Intrigue Technologies, which marketed Harmony remotes. Intrigue was bought by Logitech in 2004; since then, “Harmony” and “universal remote” have become synonymous.

Although the Harmony Touch differs in many ways from earlier Harmony models, the basics are unchanged: With it, you can control all of your audio and video equipment, put your five or more manufacturers’ remotes in that catchall drawer, and forget about them. But do save them, in case you need to teach the Harmony a new command.

It’s fair to suggest that the Bowers & Wilkins brand borders on the legendary. B&W loudspeakers have been around since 1966, and the company has pioneered both innovative construction materials (Kevlar cone drivers) and novel -- indeed, groundbreaking -- designs (the Nautilus). Now B&W has put its considerable technical muscle behind a mini home-theater speaker system that throws as muscular a sound as any I’ve heard lately. And here’s the catch -- it’s all done with one speaker design and a subwoofer.

Gear

The MT-60D comprises five M-1 speakers ($250 USD each) and one PV1D subwoofer ($1699), for a total system price of $2949. The M-1 houses a 1” Nautilus-inspired, tube-loaded tweeter, and a 4” woven-glass-fiber midrange driver in an enclosure that measures 9.8”H x 4.6”W x 6.4”D and weighs all of five pounds. The aluminum housing is generously curved, as is the grille -- it looks like a big taco shell stood on end. The lack of straight lines and corners of course minimizes internal and external reflections, while the rear port enables the modest drivers to reach depths one would not expect from so small a speaker. B&W offers a dedicated stand, the FS-M-1 ($150 pair), which lifts the speaker 35” above the floor. The stands are so designed that the only wire you see is the one entering the floor plate. B&W also supplies wall-mounting hardware.

A few years ago, a friend’s 16-year-old son would sit on the couch with his laptop and play songs from his iTunes library through the machine’s minuscule speakers, even though his mother’s better-than-respectable stereo was only three feet away. Occasionally he would play something snatched out of the air through his iPhone’s speaker. We all hailed the return of the transistor radio, and laughed.

I wonder: If he’d been able to insert a simple USB transmitter into his laptop, which would have sent the sound to a set of graceful speakers, would he have done so? Or, if he could have kept his seat and jacked his iPhone into the same-style USB transmitter, in order to hear sound infinitely superior to what’s possible from a 2cm speaker, would he have done that?

PSB Speakers, based in Pickering, Ontario, and headed by the legendary Paul Barton, is a highly respected manufacturer of loudspeakers and headphones. Although Lenbrook Industries has owned PSB for a number of years now, Barton still oversees the design and testing of PSB speakers at the National Research Council (NRC) in Ottawa, Ontario, a world-class facility for measuring and testing speakers in which he and many others refine their designs. In fact, the SoundStage! Network’s own founder and publisher, Doug Schneider, often runs into Barton at the NRC, where Doug gets exclusive measurements of the performance of many of the speakers we review.

The subject of this review is PSB’s Imagine Mini home-theater speaker system, which includes the new Imagine Mini C center-channel speaker. When our editor, Jeff Fritz, asked if I was interested in reviewing this system, I answered with an emphatic Yes! -- I’d read Roger Kanno’s rave review of the Imagine Mini two-channel system. Additionally, at $759 USD per pair, the Imagine Mini is the least expensive speaker in our list of Recommended Reference Components. I also wanted to hear how the Imagine Mini C center-channel would measure up to the Imagine Mini, and, given these speakers’ small size, whether the system could handle the dynamic range required of a good home-theater system.

Bridging the divide between appliance-like consumer electronics and more-flexible computers has been a challenge. As soon as I had a computer and a stereo, I ran the analog line output from my soundcard so I could listen to MP3s and Internet Radio stations in all their low-bit-rate awfulness. Even as the quality of computer audio sources has improved, there are several things about computers that make them largely inappropriate for the listening room: noise, startup/resume time, the need for ongoing maintenance, power consumption, the quality of the analog audio circuitry, and user interface, to name a few. At the same time, consumer electronics may be missing support for the newest codecs and services. This can be mitigated to some degree by firmware updates, but the customer is depending on companies that want to sell new hardware to devote resources to keeping their old hardware up to date. As high-resolution audio switches inexorably to file-based delivery, mating the flexibility of the computer with the usability of the appliance becomes critical.

What was once called a CD player can hardly be found anymore. Not the least of the reasons why is that many disc players today don’t play only CDs, but also DVDs, BDs, and sometimes SACDs -- hence the product category of universal player. Then there’s the DAC-transport, as Simaudio started calling their players several years ago, which puts the emphasis on connectivity rather than disc-reading capability, even if their transports still read only CDs. Cambridge Audio, of the UK, has kept CD player as part of the name of the Azur 851C ($1999 USD), but they’ve tacked on to that DAC and digital preamplifier -- which do more accurately describe the potential uses for their new, upscale digital source component.

Commuter headphones just keep coming -- sometimes it seems that everyone wants in on this market. Polk Audio is a relative newcomer, yet not totally unproven in the field -- they currently offer nine models. I reviewed their UltraFit 2000 sports headphones last February and found them excellent.

Now Polk has come up with its first active noise-canceling headphone, the UltraFocus 8000 ($349.95 USD). It was no surprise to me that these headphones sounded better than any of the others I’ve reviewed in the past few months -- or perhaps they sounded good because they sound more like floorstanding loudspeakers than typical headphones.

In the box

The UltraFocus 8000s’ box is similar to the packaging of other headphones I’ve seen lately. Two sides open out to reveal a sturdy carrying case. Inside that are the UltraFocus 8000s, their earcups folded 90 degrees and laid flat. Under them is a red cover that proclaims Polk Audio Accessories. Lift up on the ribbon to find: a flat, tangle-free cable; adapters (all gold-plated) for 1/8"-to-1/4” plugs, Nokia and Skype connections, and airline audio systems; and an external attenuator, a shirt clip, two AAA batteries, a Quick Fit Guide, an owner’s manual, and card instructing you how to register the product online. Attached to the case is a loop that can be used to attach it to luggage. A zippered net for carrying extra batteries or connectors is attached to the inside of the case with Velcro.

With companies like Denon, Onkyo, and Yamaha bringing new A/V processors to market as frequently as once a year, it can be difficult for higher-end, smaller-volume companies like Anthem, Bryston, and Krell to keep up. Whereas bigger companies often enjoy the luxuries of big engineering and design teams, and seemingly bottomless R&D and licensing budgets, smaller firms must usually make do with far less.

Wi-Fi is in the air, so to speak, and for years wireless loudspeakers have been a holy grail of home audio. Most of us seem to have accepted the truth that our TVs must be plugged in in order to work, as well as the idea that our TVs need to be fed signals by a physical cable. But there’s something about speaker cables that sets interior decorators on edge. In the past, cableless speaker systems have been of notoriously low quality. Small, lacking in good sound, usually poorly made, and subject to interference and/or inadequate transfer of signals, wireless speaker systems have come and gone, never quite measuring up to the performance standard set by an amplifier and some lamp cord.

But now that we’re all walking around with the Internet streaming to our smartphones, the concept of wirelessness has never been so pervasive, so natural, so . . . expected.

There’s a specific type of pleasure that comes with buying an expensive product. Whether it’s a loudspeaker, an amplifier, a watch, a piece of fine furniture, a car . . . the giddy anticipation is metered by the awareness of how much you paid for it. The feeling grows all the more acute as the price and quality rise. I vividly remember my conflicted joy at receiving my very first dealer-ordered, high-end product: a pair of Dynaudio Contour 1.8 Mk.II speakers. Having worked hard and saved for several years, I hemorrhaged a good deal of my shallow savings account on the handmade Danish boxes, which I partnered with a budget 5.1-channel surround-sound receiver and a five-disc CD changer. My tender affection for the rosewood Dynaudios was almost completely offset by my guilt at having invested so much money in them.

When I first heard that MartinLogan was venturing into the headphone market, I wondered whether they would come out with an electrostatic design. After all, electrostatic speakers are the products for which this Kansas-based company has been known throughout its 30-year history. For better or worse, the new Mikros 70 in-ear earphones ($149 USD) employ 6.6mm dynamic drivers, but they’ve been developed by MartinLogan to deliver a sound that, according to the promotional literature, was "inspired by the sonic clarity and detail of our legendary electrostatic speakers."

The Mikros 70s’ housings are each formed from a single piece of black-anodized aluminum with a shiny end. Small and subtle enough not to draw a lot of attention, up close they have a quality look and feel. The 4’/1.2m, nondetachable cable has a microphone and remote for use with iDevices and other smartphones, and is terminated with a gold-plated, four-conductor, 3.5mm, right-angled plug. The cable was soft and flexible but lacks any sort of shirt clip, and I found it mildly microphonic -- often a problem with in-ear models. The box includes a small carrying pouch and a selection of eartips. There are two sizes of triple-flange tips and three sizes of single-flange -- all of them in soft, floppy silicone. The triple-flange tips offer better isolation, but require insertion deeper in the ear canal than the single-flange tips.

The first "outboard" DAC I ever heard was one built onboard a Bryston B100 integrated amplifier that I was reviewing. I’d just plugged the B100 in and was in awe of its sound, which was more transparent and natural than anything I’d heard in my system up till then. I was listening to the opening track of Tori Amos’s Boys for Pele and decided to switch from the DAC of the NAD C 542 CD player I’d been using to the Bryston’s DAC, to understand why the latter came as a $1000 option. I couldn’t believe my ears. As impressive as the B100 was on its own, its sound through its built-in DAC was phenomenal. As if a curtain between me and the music had been raised, the sound became even clearer, even more revealing, and even more intimate. At that moment, I realized I’d probably never buy another CD player.

When Google released their Correlate tool, one of the first terms I tried searching was "audiophile." At that time, the No.1 correlated search term was "B&W." The British firm has been designing and manufacturing loudspeakers since the 1960s, and you’ll find their products in many of the world’s top recording studios as well as in audiophiles’ listening rooms. In 2010, B&W broke into the vibrant headphone market with the P5 on-ear model, and followed up with the C5 in-ear headphones, which I reviewed in October 2011. The latest addition to their mobile lineup is the P3 ($199) -- a lightweight on-ear design with microphone and control for iDevices.

Calyx Audio is a division of Digital & Analog Co. of Korea, a company founded in 1999 to produce class-D integrated circuits. In 2008, the company’s CEO, Seungmok Yi, a music lover and audiophile, decided to mix business with pleasure and produce high-end electronics under the brand name Calyx.

When Calyx came up with its first digital-to-analog converter, they named it simply for its product type and resolution: DAC 24/192 ($1950 USD). Recently Calyx launched the Femto, which, at $6850, is now their flagship DAC. For most audiophiles, however, the DAC 24/192 is the more economically relevant component -- which is why I wanted to review it.

In 2009, Beyerdynamic introduced their flagship Tesla T 1 headphones. The use in the model name of tesla, the International System of Units (SI) unit of measurement for the strength of a magnetic field, refers to the fact that the driver's annular magnet achieved the unprecedented flux density of 1.2 tesla in the voice-coil gap. The higher efficiency of so strong a magnetic field allowed the designers to use a smaller, lighter voice coil than would normally be required to generate the same driving force, resulting in better dynamics and faster transients. In 2010, Beyerdynamic used a miniature version of the Tesla driver in their T 50 p portable headphones. In late 2011, they added to the Tesla line the subject of this review: the T 70 headphones ($595 USD).

There’s little sense of showmanship and panache in the world of high-end hi-fi. At audio shows, manufacturers plonk their products down with little fanfare and less style. Walk through room after room, and you’ll see the same sterile exhibits with a few rows of chairs and racks of equipment. If you’re lucky, you’ll see a potted plant or two.

But you may find yourself drawn into a swish grotto resembling a cross between a New York City penthouse as seen in Better Homes and Gardens, a sci-fi movie set, and an opium den. You’ll duck under huge tropical plants, settle into a sleek leather sofa, and gaze all stupid-like at giant murals featuring waif-like models draping themselves over equally sleek speakers. There will be music playing. Someone might slip a freshly made espresso into your hand.

The 802 loudspeaker from Bowers & Wilkins has been an audio staple for over three decades. From the Matrix through the Nautilus to the Diamond editions, few can deny the unprecedented levels of technology and value that B&W has brought to market by way of the 802 over the years. In fact, it was a pair of 802 Nautiluses fed by McIntosh MC275 amplifiers and a Linn Sondek LP12 turntable that captivated me enough to leave my roots in car audio and get serious about home audio.

However, as time passed and my listening experience grew, I came to classify the 802 Nautilus as more a "love to own" than a "must own" speaker. Despite its sophisticated engineering and luxurious build quality, at some point I reluctantly realized that I was more impressed by what the 802 embodied than by how it sounded, and I prefer that ratio to be reversed.

When Chinese company HiFiMAN developed their HE-6 headphones ($1299 USD), they used a planar-magnetic driver. This driver’s very low efficiency specification of 83.5dB meant that the HE-6 required an amplifier with a 2W output. If you try to get 2W out of most headphone amps, you’re likely to see puffs of smoke coming out of the amp. And if you try to power most headphones with a 2W amplifier, you may well see puffs of smoke coming from the ’phones. So when HiFiMAN set about designing their next headphone models, they had three goals: 1) keep the planar-magnetic drivers, 2) make them cheaper, and 3) make them more efficient.

The HE-400s achieve those goals. Their efficiency is 92.5dB, and the cost is a much more affordable $399. You can play the HE-400s directly from an iPod (I’ve tried it), though I’d want more power to achieve satisfactory volume levels -- and I’m no headbanger. More important, you can use HiFiMAN’s Express HM-601 portable player ($249) to drive the HE-400s to reasonable levels.

It’s well known that Apple’s iPod music player redefined how the world listens to music. Its sleek, stylish design and capacious storage (160GB on the iPod Classic) let you take your music collection with you anywhere: on the bus, in an airplane, to the gym -- wherever you go, your iPod goes. You can pick your preferred trade-off between sound quality (up to 16-bit/48kHz WAV or AIFF files) and storage capacity (8 to 320kbps compressed MP3 or AAC files). Much to audiophiles’ disappointment, the general public often prefers low-resolution compressed files to higher-rez WAV and AIFF files.

But suppose someone wanted to build an audiophile version of the iPod -- one that would play hi-rez computer-audio files, and had a decent headphone amplifier to boot? A few years ago, a company called HiFiMAN did just that. Their HM-801 portable audio player ($790 USD) plays files up to 24/96 (though not 24/88.2), and has a built-in headphone amp that uses the Burr-Brown OPA627 chip, prized by builders of standalone headphone amps. It would seem to be just what audiophiles want.

I enjoy visiting the websites of audio manufacturers to see what they’re up to. When I recently looked at NAD’s site, I was surprised to see the new Viso 1 iPod dock, but what really caught my attention was what NAD had to say about it. The company has never been shy about extolling the virtues of its products, but I’m not used to them trumpeting a new model as “astonishing” or “awesome” or “The best sounding Smart Music system in the world. Period.” For polite NAD, that kind of language is hard-core, in-your-face smack. When I read it, I knew I had to hear this Viso 1 for myself.

To say that the Viso 1 is an iPod dock is like saying the Space Shuttle is a flying machine. While the Viso 1 is primarily designed to work with Apple’s ubiquitous music player, it’s much more. That’s not to say that the Viso 1 has enough functionality to make it the Swiss Army Knife of iPod docks, but it should suggest that it’s something special.

Dynaudio began building speakers in Denmark in 1977, at first building their own crossovers and buying drivers from other companies. By 1980, though, they’d come to the conclusion that they could build better speakers by designing and manufacturing their own drivers; ever since, Dynaudio has built its legacy primarily on the high-quality drivers they make in-house.

Many audio enthusiasts are familiar with Dynaudio’s many lines of consumer-oriented speakers, from the entry-level Excite to the cost-no-object Evidence series, but Dynaudio also has a large presence in professional audio. There’s a good chance that, at some point in the creation process, many of your favorite albums were mixed or mastered using Dynaudio monitor speakers.

Dynaudio’s studio monitors are mostly active designs, so it’s somewhat odd that the company’s consumer lines contained no active models. That has changed with the subject of this review, the Focus 110 A ($2450 USD per pair).

Headphones are by far the fastest-growing segment of the audio marketplace, and it’s no surprise that many leading loudspeaker manufacturers want a piece of the action. Over the past year we’ve seen new headphone models from Bowers & Wilkins, Klipsch, Paradigm, and Polk, to name but a few. In many cases, it’s not clear how much of the design was done by the company whose brand name appears on the product, and how much was outsourced to others with more expertise -- or, at least, experience -- in headphone design. Into the fray come the M4U 2 headphones from Canadian speaker maker PSB ($399 USD). I spoke with PSB’s chief engineer, Paul Barton, about their development.

PSB is well aware of the tremendous role that headphones play in the musical lives of both audiophile and non-audiophile consumers. A savvy company needs to respond to such a market shift, but a company with a very strong reputation for performance, build quality, and value has much to lose by a misstep. Barton never even considered the idea of slapping a PSB badge on someone else’s headphone design. If PSB was going to make headphones, they needed to be truly PSB headphones -- it is, literally, his name on the line.

NuForce Inc., based in Milpitas, California, is probably best known in the audiophile world for their innovative switching amplifiers, which have been favorably reviewed throughout the SoundStage! Network. In addition to their higher-end, higher-priced side, NuForce has two other product lines: desktop audio (computer desktop speakers, small amps, etc.) and portable audio (earphones, portable DACs, headphone amps). The subject of this review is the uDAC-2, a combination headphone amp and digital-to-analog converter, which retails for only $129 USD.

I asked to review the uDAC-2 because of a need. After finishing my review of the Arcam Solo rDac, I’d sent the sample back to Arcam without a second thought. Then, when I wanted to play some 24-bit/96kHz tracks from my computer, I realized I no longer had a good means to do so. A quick search of the Internet landed me on the NuForce website, where I found the uDAC-2.

I’ve long felt that the folks at Audioengine understand better than most the needs of today’s audio consumers. They made their mark years ago with compact, powered desktop speakers at low prices -- perfect for the growing number of audio enthusiasts who wanted good sound in small spaces. Seeing the need for increased convenience, they came out with the W1 wireless adapter, a product I’ve used for years to send decent-quality sound from my computer to anywhere in the house where I have an audio system. It works perfectly. The subject of this review, the D2 24-bit/96kHz wireless USB DAC ($599 USD), is perhaps Audioengine’s most significant product for the true audiophile who wants the freedom made possible by wireless transmission.

As I write this review, I’m smoking a 1926 Dunhill shell briar pipe packed with Dunhill’s London Mixture -- a lovely, mellow blend -- and I’m struck by a disconnect in cultural referents. While a new, unbroken-in pipe -- a Dunhill, say, or a Tsuge or Eltang -- is a challenging pleasure, the old, eminently smokable “estate” pipe represents a functioning connection to our cultural history. Despite its age, my 86-year-old artifact still functions as it was intended to: you can smoke a bowl of good tobacco and indulge in pleasures similar to those of any number of smokers who may have possessed this very pipe throughout its life. Indeed, when I’m worm food, someone else will revel in this little slice of history, just as I do now. Pretty cool, when you think about it.

Audio represents a very different proposition. Audio benefits from constant technical innovation -- which has advanced in massive increments, especially over the last four decades. One may appreciate an 86-year-old loudspeaker for what it was in its day, but one would certainly not expect it to render the full range of sound that today’s speakers can. Indeed, when a musician goes into a modern recording studio, he records on a sophisticated, multitrack digital console. I don’t think that musician would care for the sound quality rendered by a wax cylinder cut with a steel stylus. We can honor the innovations of the past without fooling ourselves that they can compete with the technologies of today.

Another recent technological innovation is widespread e-tailing: the marketing and selling of goods online. A number of savvy audio manufacturers are running with the best of both innovative worlds, marketing excellent products directly to the consumer via a website. As we’ve noted in earlier reviews, Aperion Audio and Yambeka Audio offer superior products at astonishing prices, and thus redefine the notion of affordable, high-quality audio.

Enter Fluance, offering their SXHTB+: a five-speaker home-theater system for $374.99 USD including shipping.

Remember the Handy Housewife Helper, that all-in-one kitchen gadget from "Better Living through TV," a 1955 episode of TheHoneymooners? As part of their latest get-rich-quick scheme, Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton make a commercial hawking the device as "the chef of the future," claiming that it will open cans, uncork bottles, core apples, scale fish, drive screws, cut glass, sharpen scissors, even remove corns from feet. How did it work in practice? Well, not so great, at least for a very nervous, camera-shy Ralph.

Many audiophiles forget that high-end home audio did not begin with such all-in-one components. When hi-fi first came of age, in the 1940s and early ’50s, all components were "separates": each box performed a single function. Only later did manufacturers begin producing multifunction components such as the integrated amplifier and the receiver. As time went on, many audiophiles shunned such integrated components. Like the Handy Housewife Helper, integrated products of all types are claimed to do many things, but often don’t do any one thing particularly well. However, separates take up a lot more room, require more cables and power cords, and don’t always perform better -- though the high end generally disfavors integrateds, they’ve never completely disappeared. Indeed, in recent years there has been a resurgence of integrated audiophile products.

When Polk Audio announced its UltraFit line of sports headphones, a glance at the spec sheet told me right away that I’d have to try them out. It seemed that Polk, which has earned great respect for its high-quality loudspeakers, had really thought out and corrected many of the problems that plague headsets designed to be worn during sports activities. I chose the UltraFit 2000 on-ear model ($69.95 USD) because it suited my needs for my athletic endeavors; the UltraFit line is filled out by the 500 ($49.95) and 1000 ($59.95) in-ear models, and the 3000 in-ear-canal model ($99.95). All are moderately priced and offer features not usually found in the everyday sports headphones I’ve seen.

The Paradigm loudspeaker company and I are of long acquaintance. My experience of the brand, especially its Monitor Series, goes all the way back to the first series, some 20 years ago, when I bought my first hi-fi speaker, the Monitor 7. The Monitor 7 served in my two-channel music system as well as my burgeoning home theater, and gave me years of enjoyment. My lasting impression of the speaker was one of balance throughout the entire audioband. Ever since, whether owned or being reviewed by me, one model or another from this iconic line has been in my system.

It seemed as if I’d just finished reviewing the last-generation Monitor system when Editor-in-Chief Jeff Fritz sent me a press release about the Series 7 Monitor system ($3994 USD). My response: "Gotta have it!"

In 1956, during my formative years, a comic genius named Stan Freberg created an advertising campaign for tomato paste that asked the musical question "Who put eight great tomatoes in that little bitty can?" The answer, of course, was Contadina.

In 2012, the question is "How does High Resolution Technologies get such great sound from that little bitty box?" I speak of the subject of this review, HRT’s Music Streamer II+ digital-to-analog converter ($350 USD).

There’s another song out there that describes me: "A Low-tech Guy in a High-tech World." I didn’t get into CDs until 1986 -- three years after they were introduced outside Japan -- and then only because a radio-station client offered me a CD player in exchange for some consulting work. I obtained a cell phone only in 2007, mostly because pay phones had disappeared and my wife could get a great deal through her work. I still don’t have an HDTV, and a lot of my stereo equipment is 10 to 15 years old. I don’t Tweet, and have no use for Facebook. And until recently, high-resolution audio has not been a lure; CDs suited me just fine. But now, thanks to friendly encouragement from the bosses . . . brothers and sisters, I have seen the light!

I’ve been an occasional headphone listener since before I was an audiophile, but only in the past couple years have I migrated to doing most of my listening through headphones. I don’t mean that I’m out and about with an iPod -- though that happens occasionally -- or that I’m forced to listen to headphones while at my desk at work. I listen to my usual high-quality sources through a headphone amplifier with a variety of very excellent headphones.

As I did more of my listening through headphones, my curiosity about electrostatic headphones grew. For many years, electrostatics have had an excellent reputation for sound quality among the most dedicated headphone listeners. As I looked through the liner notes of my favorite recordings, Stax headphones kept showing up as having been used for monitoring. To satisfy my curiosity, and because I’ve taken on the task of reviewing headphones for SoundStage! Xperience, I thought it high time I auditioned an electrostatic system for myself.

Shenzhen SoundMagic Technology Development Co. is a Chinese company that develops and manufactures earphones under their own SoundMagic moniker as well as for other, better-known brands. (I’m not being coy, nor are they. Keeping mum about such matters is usually part of any sourcing contract.) They have earned, on the various headphone-related forums, a reputation for producing exceptionally nice-sounding earphones at attractive prices. For this review, they sent me two very different models: the PL50 ($55) and EH11 ($50). Each comes in a hangable white box with a display window for the earphones, and includes a handy leatherette carrying pouch with a drawstring -- a nice bonus at these modest prices.

PL50

The PL50s are in-ear ’phones -- instead of resting against the pinnae (outer ears), they’re inserted into the ear canals. Since not all ear canals are the same size and shape, they come with a few sizes of foam tips and a set of silicone tips, none of which need to be inserted very far into the canal. Listeners new to in-ear ’phones may find the shallow insertion comfortable, but it means that the PL50s provide only modest isolation from ambient noise -- and if you wear them with their cord hanging down, they tend to fall out. However, a small piece of foam is included that routes the wires comfortably up, over, and behind the ears, and does a fairly good job of holding the ’phones in place. All in all, the result is a good if unexceptional balance of comfort, security, and isolation.

Located in Esbjerg, Denmark’s fifth largest city, Densen Audio Technologies has been making hi-fi components since 1992, when it was founded by Thomas Sillesen, who built his first amplifier at the age of 13. In his teens, Sillesen worked in audio retail, and later began importing and distributing audio in Denmark while attending business school. Sillesen wasn’t particularly excited about the products he was distributing, so he decided to try to make something better.

The very first Densen product was the DM-10 integrated amplifier, which made its debut at the London HiFi Show in 1992. At that time, the DM-10 was one of the most expensive integrated amplifiers on the market. That didn’t keep it from being very successful, and ever since, its model name has been synonymous with Densen. Twenty years later, Densen is still squarely focused on manufacturing integrated amps, while also making preamps, mono and stereo amplifiers, CD players, a tuner, and a phono stage.

HiFiMAN is the creation of Fang Bian, a headphone enthusiast with the knowledge and contacts to turn his enthusiasm into commercialized products. His firm designs, manufactures, and distributes high-end portable music players, headphone amplifiers, in-ear earphones, and full-sized headphones. The latest offering among his full-sized cans is the subject of this review: the HE-500 headphones ($899 USD).

The first thing that sets the HE-500s apart from the vast majority of headphones out there is that they’re a planar-magnetic (aka orthodynamic) design. In the typical dynamic headphone, the driver is attached to a voice-coil mounted in front of a magnet. In a planar-magnetic headphone, the driver is a thin membrane with a conductive layer that has been etched into a specific pattern, mounted in a nearly uniform magnetic field. There are two theoretical advantages to this latter arrangement. First, because the membrane can be lighter than a driver and voice-coil, it should be able to move faster. Second, the membrane is driven over its entire surface, which should reduce resonance modes and distortion. In most planar-magnetic headphones, including the HE-500s, the field is created by magnets placed on both sides of the membrane in a balanced configuration. Historically, planar-magnetic headphones -- and those from HiFiMAN in particular -- have been very hard to drive. The HE-500s are the most efficient design yet from HiFiMAN, with a claimed sensitivity of 89dB at 1mW. You probably won’t get a lot of volume or good control out of the average portable player, but any competent headphone amplifier should have no trouble getting the job done.

Over the last several years, Polk Audio has fought hard to earn its reputation as one of the scrappier speaker companies around. Never a darling of audiophiles, Polk has persevered through a combination of technical innovation and savvy marketing to become one of the leading high-volume speaker makers in the world. Well, we’re writing about them, aren’t we?

The speakers in Polk’s Blackstone TL350 system -- four identical TL3 satellite speakers and a TL3 Center (complemented for this review by Polk’s DSWpro 550wi powered subwoofer) -- are very small. Sometimes, small is beautiful. Sometimes, small is -- well, just small. I was interested to hear which kind of small the Polks would turn out to be.

In 1991, Etymotic Research launched the first commercial earphone for music playback that was designed to be inserted in the ear canal. This created a whole new product category that goes by various names: in-ear headphones, canal phones, insert phones, etc. I prefer the widely used term in-ear monitors (IEMs). Whatever you call them, these types of earphones have a few basic characteristics. Insertion into the ear canal avoids many of the variations in outer-ear (pinna) shape and headphone positioning that can affect the perceived sound of normal headphones. Depending on the design of the eartip, IEMs can offer a significant amount of isolation from ambient noise, which allows for much lower and thus safer listening levels, as well as increased perception of details. Many IEMs are also highly efficient, so they can be adequately driven directly from the output of a portable audio device. Those characteristics, combined with their very small size, make IEMs an excellent choice for listening on the go.

From their extensive work with developing tools for audiologists, the engineers and scientists at Etymotic came up with a target curve that represents the ideal frequency response for earphones. They then tweaked that curve to account for the 5dB boost in the top octave on most CDs, and an equivalent 5dB cut that they found was characteristic of most professional studio monitor speakers. The result was the ER-4 S -- their first product, launched in 1991 and still available today. The only trouble with that original design was that its low sensitivity -- 0.1V for 90dB at 1kHz -- requires dedicated headphone amplification. In 1994, Etymotic introduced the ER-4P. It had a higher sensitivity -- 102dB at 0.1V -- and could therefore be driven directly from the output of almost any portable audio device.

Ask an audiophile for a list of iconic speaker brands, and Britain’s Bowers & Wilkins is likely to be at or near the top. Since its founding in the 1960s, B&W has produced a range of loudspeakers offering truly exceptional performance at their various price points. Their flagship 800 series delivers a world-class listening experience for what is, in high-end-audio terms, a relatively reasonable price. Use of B&W monitors in many of the world’s preeminent studios makes them a literal reference for how recordings are supposed to sound.

In recent years, B&W has targeted the lifestyle market. Their one-piece Zeppelin iPod dock and speaker system introduced the brand to a new group of consumers who may never have considered venturing into a hi-fi shop. In addition to an updated version of the Zeppelin, B&W has expanded its lifestyle offerings to include a computer speaker system and two headphone designs. The in-ear C5 earphones ($179 USD) -- with their built-in microphone and control for iPods and iPhones -- are squarely aimed at the mobile user rather than the studio professional.

Smyth Research calls its new audio algorithm Smyth Virtual Surround (SVS), and makes some very big claims for it: “SVS is a revolutionary audio process that emulates, in headphones, the complete experience of listening to actual loudspeakers in an actual room, in up to eight-channel surround sound.” The inventor of the SVS algorithm is Stephen Smyth, PhD, who was for some years the technical director of DTS; other members of his staff have also worked with DTS. Smyth Research was founded in 2004.

What comes in the box

Anyone foolish enough to equate quantity with quality would already be happy with the Realiser A8 ($3670 USD). The package contains the Realiser A8 itself; the TU-1 Head Tracker; the TR-1 Head Tracking Reference; a pair of HTM-1 miniature microphones, which look much like earbuds, along with three pairs of washable earplugs, in different sizes; an RC3 remote control; and a set of Stax SR-202 headphones with their own small amplifier (5” x 5” x 0.25"). You’ll need two AC receptacles.

April Music is a name with which frequent readers of the SoundStage! Network will be familiar. Based in South Korea, this audio company has been building high-end components since 1998, and over the years several of their products have been reviewed on the SoundStage! Network websites.

April Music is the parent company of the Aura, Stello, and Eximus brands, each of which offers components to fulfill a certain level of aesthetic appeal and sonic performance at their given price points. The Eximus line comprises two CD players, while the Aura and Stello brands each offer an integrated amplifier and a CD player. The Aura line also includes the Note Premier, a single-box CD player and integrated amp.

The subjects of this review are the Aura Groove integrated amplifier ($1895 USD) and the Aura Neo CD player-DAC ($1795). Essentially, these models are the result of splitting the Aura Note Premier into separate components. However, the Groove offers 25Wpc more power than the Note Premier. An advantage of the two-box approach is that the buyer can experiment with CD players and integrated amps from other manufacturers to achieve another sound. However, given that the Groove and the Neo are the perfect aesthetic complements to one another -- and because their cabinets are much narrower than the 17” standard adopted by many manufacturers -- one might prefer just to keep them together.

The headphone market is dominated by a few very large professional-audio companies, but there are some smaller firms -- e.g., Grado and Ultrasone -- that offer significant products at various price points. What haven’t historically been seen in the headphone world are the one- and two-person garage operations that make up a substantial part of the rest of high-end audio. Designing and making your own headphones generally means designing and making your own drivers, and neither is a trivial task. The mounting structures/enclosures can be very different for different driver types, and their production requires either dedicated tooling or substantial amounts of labor. When a small company comes out with a pair of headphones, these are usually modifications, or even mere rebadgings, of someone else’s product. That’s not the case here. The Audeze LCD-2 headphones ($945 USD) were designed from scratch and are built entirely by Audeze in the USA. That’s a huge undertaking for a small company, but Audeze thinks they’ve got something special and can directly compete with the big boys.

PSB’s new CS1000 ($499 USD per pair) isn’t the first outdoor/indoor speaker on the market, but it’s the first from PSB, which automatically makes it one of the most interesting: it was engineered by Paul Barton, one of the world’s leading speaker designers. Barton told me that he didn’t want to offer a merely decent product, but one that produced the legendary sound quality and possessed the high value that PSB is known for worldwide.

Description

The feel of strength and durability of the CS1000’s enclosure at first made me think it was made of aluminum; instead, it turns out to be of UV-resistant polypropylene, available in black or white. The removable grille is aluminum, and the binding posts, which are concealed by a robust rubber cover, are said to be rustproof. Each speaker is about 12.25"H x 11.75"W x 9.25"D and weighs ten pounds. One handy design feature is that the cabinet’s rear is quite a bit narrower than its front, for easier mounting in corners.

Consider, if you will, the top of the world, Everest, where the air is thin, the view Godly, and getting there and back the stuff of deadly legend. At the top of Velodyne’s subwoofer world is the Digital Drive 1812 Signature Edition, a monstrous edifice with two long-throw drivers measuring 18” and 12”, twin 1250W amplifiers, and enough cojones to be heard, well, at the top of the world. Just below the DD-1812 is Velodyne’s Digital Driveplus series -- think K2, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, and so on -- each of which scales dizzying heights, but doesn’t quite summit at the top of the world. The driver sizes and model names of the DD+ series are four: 18", 15", 12”, and 10”. We’re going to have some fun with the 10-incher, which, unless I miss my guess, is, despite its size, one special sub.

Last November I waxed rhapsodic about the Velodyne Optimum-10, by any measure a subwoofer of outstanding attributes and a great value. Its remarkable performance was enhanced by its built-in equalizer, which adjusted the output profile by taking the sub’s placement and your room into account. Of course, this is a variation on the theme originally developed in Velodyne’s SPL series and, later, the first Digital Drive series, with customizable equalization that could be visually managed by connecting the sub to a TV monitor -- an extreme multivariate experience not for the unadventurous or weak of character. The only drawback to the Digital Drive equalization methodology was deploying the subwoofer in an audio system that didn’t have a TV handy. In that case, the user had to schlep a TV monitor over to the audio system to use the sub’s customization features. The Digital Driveplus series solves that problem by offering a Windows-based PC interface that doesn’t require use of a TV.

I do most of my headphone listening at home using a dedicated headphone amplifier and full-sized cans, but when I’m listening on the go or at work I prefer in-ear monitors (IEMs) -- a type of earphone that is inserted into the ear canal. Not only do their small sizes make IEMs more convenient than regular headphones, but I appreciate the level of isolation that most of them provide. I also like the fact that IEMs can be adequately driven directly from the output of an iPod or other portable device.

When, 20 years ago, Etymotic Research released their first high-fidelity in-ear transducer for music reproduction, they virtually created a new product category, and that design, the ER-4, is still their top model. The subject of this review, the hf5 ($149 USD), is an attempt to provide most of the performance of the more expensive ER-4 at a price that appeals to a larger number of consumers. The savings are realized by manufacturing the earphones as a complete unit in China rather than hand-matching each driver at Etymotic’s headquarters, in Illinois.

Although they cost less than the ER-4s, the hf5s come with a full complement of accessories, including a carrying pouch, replacement filters, a filter-changing tool, and a selection of eartips. Choosing the appropriate tips to use is a matter of both comfort and sound quality. The three-flange silicone tips provide the best isolation and bass response, but must be inserted deep into the ear canal. Once I had them properly inserted, I found them extremely comfortable, but some people just don’t like sticking things that deeply into their ears. The foam tips, particularly the rounded ones, were also very comfortable, sounded nearly as good, and didn’t have to be inserted as far. Either way, I could use the hf5s for hours with no discomfort, and almost forget I was wearing them at all.

Ever seen a Citroën DS19/21/23? It looked like something out of a science-fiction flick when it was introduced in 1955, was still in that category when it finally went out of production in 1975, and offered high-technology features well ahead of its time. Or the Renault Twingo, possibly the greatest little sub-mini now made in Europe?

I like the French. They have an individualistic sense of style that no one else comes close to duplicating. They make the world’s greatest wines, most of which I can’t afford to drink. They make cars that don’t look like any other nation’s. And, of course, they’re the masters of haute couture.

The French also bring their individualistic sense of style to the loudspeakers they make. Consider the Focal Chorus 826V ($2495 USD per pair), two of which have happily resided in my listening room the last several months. First of all, this model eschews the American concept of a snappy name: "Focal Chorus 826V" is a mouthful. Nor is this speaker a tall rectangular box, as are most speakers.

While it’s true that the Chorus 826V’s enclosure is a rectangular box 40.0"H x 11.1"W x 14.8"D, there’s nothing boxy about how it looks -- or sounds, for that matter. First, although it’s fairly tall and narrow, the Chorus 826V is firmly planted on the ground -- it sits on a cast-aluminum base plate that comes to a point in front, to match the prow of the grille cover. While many listeners immediately remove the grille of any speaker to which they listen, I found the Chorus 826Vs’ grilles sonically benign, and left them on for all of my listening. The speaker can be leveled using an included Allen wrench, and Focal supplies nifty plastic covers for the spikes if you want to set the Choruses on a hardwood floor -- a thoughtful inclusion. Each speaker weighs 57 pounds.

Sony reinvented portable music reproduction with its Walkman cassette player in the early 1980s, and in no time at all Walkmen appeared on waistbands around the world. But while the Walkman was a smash hit, it didn't spur an entire new line of accessories, as has the Apple iPod. Apple didn't invent portable music, but it sure gave a lot of companies a reason to do some innovating of their own.

One of the earliest iPod accessories was the speaker dock, which freed the listener from having to use headphones while offering a convenient place to recharge the player's battery. While the iPod has gone through many iterations, I can't recall too many iPod speaker docks. Maybe that's because they were forgettable, but I also think it's because there haven't been as many designs as might have been expected, given the huge number of iPods sold to date.

With its SR-100i, TEAC offers not just an iPod charger with speakers, but an entire sound system compressed into a shape that looks like a slightly angular football, and a lot like B&W's Zeppelin, but with a fatter midsection. A major difference between the Zeppelin and the SR-100i are their respective prices of $600 and $299.99 USD. Bowers & Wilkins would no doubt argue that there are also qualitative differences, with the Zeppelin's amplification being designed and built by Classé and its speakers developed by B&W's own engineers. But TEAC is the parent company of Esoteric, itself no slouch in high-end audio. TEAC is also well known as a maker of kick-butt mini audio systems that have won over SoundStage! Network reviewers in full-on evaluations and even at audio shows.

For the serious headphone listener, a dedicated amplifier is a must. The headphone jacks built into most audio components, when there’s one built in at all, are usually afterthoughts. They may be connected to a multipurpose operational amplifier (op-amp) with inadequate resolution and able to drive only the easiest headphone loads. Or they may use the power-amp section of an integrated amplifier, which can provide adequate drive but tends to be noisy. Twenty years ago, dedicated headphone amplifiers were do-it-yourself projects or a garage industry. Then along came companies like HeadRoom, who decided to make it a core business, and have continually pushed the level of performance available from headphone amps. It was almost a decade ago that HeadRoom released the first balanced headphone amplifier, and balanced drive quickly became the rage amongst headphone aficionados.

Balanced circuit topology is nothing new -- many high-end audio companies have long promoted it. While there is some debate as to whether it sounds better than single-ended, there’s no doubt that, properly implemented, it reduces some types of distortion. Balanced drive also doubles the slew rate and voltage swing available from a circuit. In the context of headphones, it also breaks the ground connection between the left and right channels, eliminating crosstalk. For more information about balanced headphone drive, see the articles in the Learning Center on HeadRoom’s website.

I’ve been doing a lot of headphone listening over the past few months, and I’m not talking about portable listening. I’m talking about sitting in a quiet room, connecting the 'phones to the best equipment I have, and letting the music wash over me. Relatively little space in the high-end press is dedicated to headphones, even though they can offer an astonishing level of fidelity and musical enjoyment for a fraction of the cost of an equivalent loudspeaker-based system -- but we at the SoundStage! Network have decided to devote to them a few more words than we have in the past. After being impressed with the Edition 8 from Germany’s Ultrasone, I was curious how much of that performance was offered by Ultrasone’s Pro 900 -- the top sealed design in their Pro series. While at $599 USD the Pro 900 isn’t cheap, it’s within reach of many more audiophiles than is the $1499 Edition 8.

Ultrasone has been designing and manufacturing headphones since the early 1990s, which makes them a relative newcomer -- most headphone makers have been in business since the early years of electronic recording. Unlike those other companies, Ultrasone focuses exclusively on headphones, and 20 years is more than enough time to have built up a solid reputation; Ultrasone has won numerous accolades and a devoted following of audio professionals.

Cambridge Audio, based in the UK, has a long history of building affordable two-channel gear that puts far more costly components to shame. But if affordable is Cambridge’s middle name, it could just as easily be innovative. Take, for one example, the Azur 840A two-channel integrated amplifier -- its power-amp stage is unique in being class-XD, a hybrid of class-A and class-B that promises low levels of distortion. Another is their DAC Magic D/A converter, with its switchable proprietary filter algorithms.

Although the subject of this review, the Azur 650R A/V receiver, lacks the class-XD amplifier stage and the sophistication of the DAC Magic DAC, Cambridge Audio claims to have paid much attention to its sound quality, and to have successfully combined an audiophile-grade integrated amplifier with most of the modern conveniences a home-theater enthusiast would desire -- all for $1799.99 USD.

Axiom Audio, based in Ontario, Canada, has thrived despite the cooling of the global economy. There are several reasons for this, including their products’ affordability, and a lean business model of selling only via the Internet -- no middleman. Perhaps the biggest reason for Axiom’s success is that they make fine-sounding equipment, something I’ve experienced firsthand with a number of their models.

The Epic 80-800 speaker system ($4786.10 USD) reviewed here seemed pretty familiar to me -- a while back I reviewed a similar system, the Epic 80. But the Epic 80-800 includes some new additions to the flagship Epic line -- the VP180 center-channel and the EP800 v3 subwoofer -- and the main and surround models have been designated “v3” to reflect the updates Axiom has made to their crossovers and drivers. With all these changes, it was about time I gave the best that Axiom has to offer another spin.

M80 v3

The M80 v3 ($1380/pair) is a large floorstanding speaker nearly 40” tall. When you slide off the M80’s magnetically attached grille, you can see that it means business, and that that business is to play loud. How many speakers do you know that have two tweeters, one above the other? Not any, I bet. In fact, the M80 has two of everything: two 5.25” aluminum midranges and two 6.5” aluminum woofers as well. The purpose of this is to give this speaker the wherewithal to play loudly and cleanly without distortion. The M80 is also highly efficient (95dB/W/m in-room), with a lowish nominal impedance of 4 ohms. Your amp or receiver won’t need a lot of power to drive it up to loud, but it should be rated for loads of 4 ohms or less.

Drivers take up nearly all of the M80’s front surface, but Axiom still found room for a port under the lower woofer, and for two more on the rear panel. These ports aren’t simple round holes; each aperture has a jagged rim in a pattern Axiom calls Vortex Porting. This is claimed to effectively increase the size of the port for the given diameter and result in lower noise. Single binding posts are standard; dual binding posts for biwiring or biamping can be had for another $40/pair.

In the face of smart phones, iPods, and iPads, few companies these days are making portable TVs. Vizio has tried to make their offering seem like a more contemporary product by using a backlit LED display and adding at least a couple of bells and whistles, but the facts remain: The VMB070 doesn’t connect to the Internet, it has limited adjustments, and its design seems to have been focused more on style than on use. It does, however, receive over-the-air digital high-definition signals at resolutions of 780p and 1080i.

What’s in the box

Included with the VMB070 ($159.99 USD) are an instruction manual, a remote control, an AC charging cord, a composite-video cable, an RF adapter to permit connection to a cable box or an external antenna, and a soft carrying case.

The VMB070 itself measures 7 1/2”W by 4 7/8”H x 3/4”D and weighs just over a pound. Its fold-out easel stand clicks firmly into place and, when extended, extends the overall depth to about 3.” Its 7”-diagonal screen is 6”W x 3.5”H. The VMB070 is smooth and sleek, much like a tablet. The only controls visible at first glance are a power switch on the top, and power and headphone jacks discreetly tucked away on the side. Lift the antenna -- it swings out to the side -- to find the RF adapter, USB, and A/V input jacks and the master On/Off switch.

The remote control is surprisingly large and old-fashioned at 5 1/4”L x 1 3/4”W x 1/4”D. One wonders why a remote is included at all -- the VMB070 has a limited touchscreen (see below), and is so small that it’s unlikely to be viewed from any distance that would require remote control.

For years now, we've trekked to North Carolina's Outer Banks for an annual week's worth of sun, surf, and relaxation. The one truism common to all the vacation houses we've rented -- at least in our price range -- is that the "Stereo-CD player" feature in the specs invariably overstates the junk that an owner would dare leave out for a renter's use. We quickly learned that if we wanted music, we needed to bring our own gear. So, for years, along with the boogie boards, beach chairs, and kites, we've also packed RadioShack's compact Optimus STA-300 receiver, Celestion 3 speakers, and whatever portable CD player we had on hand. Recently, the STA-300's right channel gave up the ghost. The Optimus had cost only about $100, and having its bad capacitor replaced would have cost more than that, so lately we've made do with a Sirius boom box -- it got whatever baseball we wanted, but we were slaves to the sound quality of whatever station we tuned to. If we craved, say, the Jayhawks' Hollywood Town Hall, we were out of luck. And, well, it's a boom box -- hi-fi it ain't. We lusted after a small amplifier or receiver that could do the vacation-audio lifting.

Meanwhile, I guess it was always only a matter of when, not if, the crafty folks at Audioengine would gussy up the nifty little amplifier built into their A2 and A5 powered speakers and put it in its own box. Enter the Audioengine N22 integrated amplifier ($199 USD).

I recently found myself looking back to a time before digital media, before multichannel home theater, and yes, before even VHS tape. Things were simple -- movies were projected from film, and music was pressed into discs made of vinyl. In 1970, RCA Records changed everything by introducing a new way of listening to music called Quadraphonic, which, as its name implies, used four discrete channels instead of two. Quadraphonic was the beginning of the surround-sound formats that we have today.

In 1976, Dolby Laboratories put its own spin on things by introducing Dolby Stereo, designed for the analog sound systems of movie theaters. Though also a four-channel format, Dolby Stereo differed from Quadraphonic in consisting of front right, front left, and center channels, and a mono matrixed surround channel. Dolby Stereo was adapted in 1982 so that it could be experienced in the home using a Hi-Fi-capable VCR, albeit through only two channels. It wasn’t until 1987 that the original Dolby Stereo, renamed Dolby Pro Logic, was made available to the public for surround-sound use in the home. To fully exploit the potential of this early codec, you had to purchase either a five-channel Pro Logic receiver or a Pro Logic processor and pair it with a five-channel power amplifier -- at that time, a rare item.

About ten years ago, I reviewed the One For All Cinema 6 learning remote control. This very basic learning remote cost only $25, but with it I was able to control all of the components of my home-theater system. As that system grew more complex over the years and new components were added and old components removed, I grew weary of constantly having to reprogram the Cinema 6, and reverted to using the original remotes supplied with my components.

For the past few years, Harmony remote controls have been making a name for themselves as some of the most versatile and easy-to-use on the market -- in 2006, we awarded the Harmony 880 a SoundStage! Network Product of the Year award. The 880 has since been replaced by the Harmony One, which is widely regarded as one of the best remotes now available. However, all of this functionality comes at a price; the 880 cost $249 when available, and so does the One. However, Harmony has an extensive line of remotes at a wide range of prices, including one of their latest, the subject of this review: the Harmony 300 ($50 USD).

Apple’s iPods and iPhones must be charged to work properly, a fact that has spawned a whole family of products generally known as iPod docks. You see them everywhere these days, and most have three things in common: they look cheap, they sound awful, but they do charge up an iPod or iPhone.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I removed from its box the Logitech S715i rechargeable loudspeaker and iPod/iPhone dock ($149.99 USD). It didn’t look cheap. It was a solid piece of work without a rattle or squeak. It was like picking up a 2.5-pound brick.

Description

The S715i is 15.25”W x 5.25”H x 2.36”D and shaped rather like a reclining peanut. It struck me as being similar to styles used for automobile systems, with a transparent, fine-mesh grille that gives an easy view of its drivers while fully protecting them. At the center is a smooth plastic lid that, flipped all the way back, reveals the dock while providing a sturdy easel that holds the speaker upright, tilted slightly back. Four rubber feet offer protection from scratches and scuffs to any surface on which the S715i is placed.

The S715i is described by Logitech as a “trayless dock, works with any iPhone or iPod with a Universal Dock Connector.” A 3.5mm jack on the back of the S715i lets you connect an iTouch via the latter’s headphone jack. You can also use this jack to plug in a portable CD or DVD player, or almost any other portable player.

Since its inception, KEF has earned a reputation for being one of the most innovative and technologically advanced speaker companies. In fact, it wasn’t long after Raymond Cooke founded the company, in 1961, that KEF transformed the loudspeaker industry by being one of the first to design and build their own drive-units and associated surrounds entirely of synthetic materials. This innovation opened the door to countless new applications, ranging from ultrasmall portable radios to drive-units flexible enough to be installed in homemade cabinets and even in walls. In the late 1960s, Cooke reestablished his affiliation with the BBC, and signed an agreement allowing KEF to manufacture the BBC-designed LS5/1A minimonitor. Production of the LS5/1A and several of its successors continued into the mid-1970s; it eventually evolved into the LS3/5 and then into the LS3/5A -- a completely re-engineered minimonitor designed specifically around the drivers used in KEF’s then-popular Coda model.

KEF kept the ball rolling in the early 1970s by becoming the first speaker maker in the world to use computer-assisted design techniques, which they called “total system design.” In 1973, the Model 104 not only exploited KEF’s total system design, but became the company’s first Reference Series model. The next four years saw many improvements in this design, and then, in 1977, the world-renowned Model 105 was launched. Two years later, the Model 105 was joined by an entire family of Reference speakers: the 105/2, 105/4, 103/2, and 101.

The 1980s marked the introduction of KEF to this side of the pond, in the form of KEF Electronics of America. It proved to be a dynamic time for the company; they not only continued their success with their Reference line, but broke into car audio with their Universal Bass Equalizer (KUBE), and released their first in-wall speakers, derived from drivers designed and built in the ’60s. Most notably, however, in 1988, KEF introduced the revolutionary Uni-Q system. The Uni-Q technology continued to evolve throughout the 1990s -- as did KEF, releasing several new speaker lines, home-theater products, and numerous new driver technologies. Today, almost every speaker made by KEF, including the model reviewed here, employs Uni-Q technology.

It seems that just about every computer manufacturer these days is making an inexpensive, high-definition media player, many of them selling for $100 or even less. I recently reviewed the popular Western Digital WD TV Live ($149 USD) and found it a very good media player, if lacking in a few areas, especially the playing of audio files: it can’t output 24-bit/96kHz digital audio.

In my quest to find a media player that satisfies my audiophile sensibilities and my inner video geek, I decided to try Asus’s O!Play HDP-R1 -- I’d heard some good things about it, and it’s a popular choice among audio/video enthusiasts. It has a list price of only $99, but, like most peripherals from computer manufacturers, can often be had at a discount.

There is something dreadfully wrong with the human ear. It can hear almost any note in the sound spectrum, but when taking in the many tones produced by a group of different instruments, if there isn’t a low tone, the sound is thin, wispy, lacking. Not many instrumental groupings, other than classical string quartets and bluegrass trios, survive very long without the low end: bass.

Long ago I took a class in the physics of music, and even the esteemed professor couldn’t really answer the mystery of our need for bass. "It just sounds better," he said. There was a time when rock’n’soul engineers mixed the sound of the double bass or bass guitar in with the bass drum. They knew they needed it, but had no idea what to do with it. It wasn’t until the emergence of such bass masters as James Jamerson, Charles Mingus, Scott LaFaro, and Paul McCartney that bass was recognized as something other than an aural necessity. They and many others demonstrated that bass could deliver a contrapuntal line, a second harmony, or freeform modality. I play a Fender Jazz Special, and I love it. I’m not very good, but I hold John Patitucci, Rob Wasserman, John Entwistle, Jaco Pastorius, Duck Dunn, and a host of others in a special place in my heart. They’re bassists. They hold down the bottom. Subwoofers should seek them out and pay homage.

There are two basic approaches to bass. First, there’s the technical approach: what we do here, which deals with the hi-fi reproduction of bass, what works, what doesn’t -- what has become known as bass management. There’s another approach, though, which considers bass, especially the stand-up double or string bass and the electric bass guitar, as the apotheosis of modern rock and jazz. So when I approach a subwoofer qua subwoofer, I give equal weight to its technical qualities (i.e., why you’re reading this) and its ability to convey the emotional seat of the sounds I so love.

Bass management is as much art as science. What may measure optimally may alternately under- and overwhelm the listener. Crossover points are meticulously calibrated, only to boom at tender moments, then poop out as whole planets crumble. Then there’s the question of placement. There are aficionados of room corners and lovers of the open air, as well as those who prefer subwoofers to be placed behind a wall or between the floor joists. And after you’ve taken all that into consideration, there’s the room -- and no two rooms seem to behave the same. What murmurs politely in one venue blasts shamelessly in another. The science captures low-frequency signals and spins them into hefty woofers with dedicated power supplies. The art fiddles with subwoofer positions until the sub sounds as well as it’s going to -- in your room.

Features

It probably goes without saying that Velodyne is, odds on, the first name conjured when one hears the word subwoofer, so rich is their history and so numerous their achievements. Among their considerable innovations are the small-footprint sealed-box sub; the high-powered, low-heat Energy Recovery System (ERS) class-D amplifier that claims a "green" 95% efficiency; and the room-bass correction that makes linear the sound in your room. In one sense, the Optimum series represents the culmination of Velodyne’s many innovations. Each sealed-box Optimum subwoofer has an ERS amp, occupies a dinky footprint, and uses software (a microphone is supplied) to automatically tailor the sub’s output to the room. Indeed, one could suggest that this auto-EQ approach, first developed for Velodyne’s SPL series in 2005, takes the dice roll out of room placement.

The Optimum-10 ($1199 USD) measures 13.5"H x 13"W x 15.2"D, weighs 43 pounds, and sports a 1200W ERS amplifier driving a 10" front-firing woofer with 3" dual-layer voice coil. The controls are simple. The front panel has a power button, a two-button volume control, an LED display that tells you what your output setting is, and the equalizer’s microphone input. The rear panel contains the master power switch, power-cable receptacle, low-pass crossover control, the second of three volume controls, line-level inputs and outputs, speaker-level inputs, and a switch that toggles between Active and Standby modes. The latter function lets you leave the subwoofer on all the time, but it doesn’t electronically engage until it detects an input signal. One line-level input is labeled LFE, for an A/V receiver’s subwoofer outputs. You can use the sub’s crossover filter, your receiver’s bass-management crossover, or both. This is an improvement over many powered subs, in which the sub’s own crossover is defeated by connecting the LFE and the amplifier’s subwoofer output. Finally, there’s an IR sensor input: If the Optimum-10 is placed where it’s difficult to use the remote, a third-party IR sensor can be connected. A 12V trigger can be engaged for ancillary equipment so fitted. The Optimum-10 comes in your choice of Gloss Black or Cherry veneer.

However, the business controls are on the Optimum-10’s remote control. Here is found another power switch, which turns the unit completely off. (The manual suggests that this control forces the unit into standby mode, but a quick check with Velodyne confirmed my experience: the remote’s power switch replicates the master power switch on the rear panel.) There are four phase settings: 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees. Once you’ve set everything else up, you listen with each phase setting and choose the one that sounds best. A Mute button does exactly that. The Night switch limits the Optimum-10’s dynamic output power and is designed, as its name suggests, to lower the power output at night, when you might risk disturbing the neighbors. A Light button toggles the front panel’s LEDs on and off. The EQ button calibrates the onboard seven-band parametric equalizer (more on this in a bit). Finally, there are four EQ presets: Movies, Rock, Jazz, Games. Each of these alters the subsonic filter frequency, EQ frequency, EQ level, and volume differential to complement what you’re listening to. Only the Jazz setting alters only the subsonic filter without touching the equalization. The Optimum-10 is shielded from interfering with video displays.

Setup

Setup was a breeze. You plug the sub in. Connect the Subwoofer Out on the nifty Onkyo TX-NR808 receiver to the LFE input on the Optimum-10, and you’re in business. Well, almost. The magic in this puppy is the parametric equalizer. Velodyne supplies a dinky omnidirectional microphone, a dinky stand for it, and a 20’ cord to connect to the input on the front panel. You plug the mike in and locate it at the primary listening position. When you press the EQ button on the remote, the Optimum-10 generates 12 sweep tones; listening to these tones through the mike, the Velodyne’s software measures the effects that the room’s dimensions, walls, and furniture have on the sound, then programs the sub’s equalizer to account for them. Move the sub or the furniture, and all you have to do is plug the mike in and run the sweep tones again.

"Yeah, so what?" I hear you say. "An equalizer. Good audiophiles generally avoid equalizers." Well, friend, the proof is in the listening. Once you’ve set up the Optimum-10, you’ll hear bass as you’ve never heard it before.

I set the crossover at 80Hz on the Onkyo and disengaged the Velodyne’s crossover. After the Optimum-10 was installed but before doing any critical listening, I recalibrated my MartinLogan surround speakers.

Listening

I’ve had a lot of powered subs hooked up to my A/V rig. Each had its own characteristics: bone-rattling depth, sublime tonal accuracy, unimpaired loudness. All have done the job satisfactorily in one fashion or another, but none has done everything so very, very well as the Optimum-10.

In Enya’s Watermark (CD, Reprise 26774-2), deep synthesized bass is the order of the day. From the root punctuations of "Cursum Perficio" to the pedal rumblings of "Storms in Africa" to the Stygian bridge in "Orinoco Flow," this CD challenges not only a subwoofer’s ability to reach down and grab the notes, but to render them with distinct clarity. Set to Rock, the Optimum-10 did it all, note for note. Similarly, Jellyfish’s landmark Bellybutton (CD, Charisma 91400-2) is a minor miracle of modern engineering; Jack Joseph Puig somehow dialed in the precise amount of bass for each track. Jason Falker’s opening to "The Man I Used to Be" burrowed to just the right depth, and John Patitucci’s upright bass in "Bedspring Kiss" flowed so smoothly it inadvertently took over the track -- just like Rob Wasserman’s upright in "Night Train," from Bruce Cockburn’s The Charity of Night (CD, Rykodisc RCD 10366), an instrument of propulsive energy and grace. Don Dixon’s sublime bowed upright in the title track of Marti Jones’s Any Kind of Lie (CD, RCA 2040-2-R) precisely trembled through the Velodyne, just as his electric bass in "Second Choice" gently and firmly led each chorus to resolution. Dixon is a bassist, and it’s no mistake that the low end is prominent in any recording he produces.

Rob Wasserman’s performance in "Night Train" brought into stark relief the difference between MP3 recordings and bona-fide hi-fi. I first heard the song on Radio Paradise, and commented that I loved "the guy cookin’ on fretless." After hearing the CD, it was massively apparent that he was playing an acoustic double bass -- the sonic differences between the two instruments are obvious, but were not apparent on the MP3 over the radio, even through excellent PC speakers like my Audioengine A2s. Finally, I’ve never been much of a Bruce Cockburn fan (I know; don’t start), but The Charity of Night is a terrific album that I can’t recommend highly enough -- especially when its low end is reproduced by the Velodyne Optimum-10.

Now set to its Movies mode, the Optimum-10 took my DVDs to places they hadn’t been. A word about the function of deep bass in movie soundtracks: We all know and are all familiar with the thundering rumble of space cruisers (the Star Wars effect), massive explosions, and the sickening crunch of large machines with too many wheels. Generally, those kinds of rumbles are associated with some real image, action, or artifact on the screen -- but they barely scratch the surface of what the low end can do. The artful film-sound engineer will deploy bass to create atmosphere, to signal some meaning to the viewer, be it foreboding, dread, a portent of change, and so on. So uniquely refined was the Optimum-10’s sound that it gave me wonderful insight into the many duties of bass in a soundtrack.

Guillermo del Toro’s sublime Hellboy opens on a remote Scottish isle, where Der Führer’s Requisite Cast of Pure Evil (c.f.Raiders of the Lost Ark), aided by one Grigori Rasputin (it’s a comic book, fercryinoutloud), prepare to unleash some tentacled nasties, the Ogdru Jahad, on the planet. At one point a Klieg light is sucked into Rasputin’s cosmic vortex past the Jahad, flailing helplessly in its crystalline prison. What I heard was a marrow-curdling rumble -- not the sound of the Jahad so much as a portent of doom, a not-so-subtle warning that these übersquid weren’t to be trifled with. Bass can also enhance the illusion of very large spaces bounded by very large doors, gates, windows, what-have-you. In chapter 5 of Hellboy, Agent Myers’ descent into the FBI’s Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense was accented by deep, heavy, metallic clanks as trap doors shut and walkways magically appeared onscreen. Even the vault-like door to Hellboy’s apartment (chapter 6) punged dully as the tumblers laconically fell into place. It is the reverberant bass dialed into the soundtrack that give these illusions their depth and authenticity -- artifacts that the Optimum-10 rendered with conviction.

Alex Proyas’s flawed I, Robot, with its plot holes (how do Spooner and Calvin know where each other lives?) and ill-conceived characters (what exact purpose did Shia LaBeouf’s street urchin fill?), is nonetheless occasionally compelling sci-fi, if only for Will Smith’s screen presence and the loving care with which Sonny (voiced by Alan Tudyk), the almost human NS5 robot, is drawn. This is one movie that uses atmospheric bass to marvelous effect. In chapter 14, the deep bass in Marco Beltrami’s background music signals danger as Smith’s Det. Del Spooner approaches Dr. Lanning’s mansion -- a portent of dread that is quickly fulfilled. Similarly, in chapter 31 every other downbeat in the score is heavily accented with bass, building the suspense as Spooner and Calvin approach the USR Building for the final showdown. The latter scene was noteworthy because, for the first time -- and I know this movie’s sound pretty well -- I could hear timpani mixed in with something else harsh and uncompromising, the two and maybe more sounds instilling in me an edge-of-the-seat anticipation. I’m not sure I’d heard the timpani before. And in genuine action scenes -- the rolling out of the NS5s (chapter 16), their attack on Spooner (chapter 18), the fierce rumbling of the USR trucks, the crash of Spooner’s Audi (product placement at its finest) -- the LF effects boomed prodigiously, such was the bass power created by the Velodyne Optimum-10.

Conclusion

There is no such thing as the perfect speaker, and that more than likely applies doubly to subwoofers -- too much can go wrong. However, the combination of an inky-dinky footprint, an overabundance of power, a modest driver, and its room-correction equalizer makes the Optimum-10 as close to perfect a subwoofer as I’ve heard. Musical bass was musical; atmospheric effects were stratospheric; and plain ol’ Hollywood CRASH! BAM! KA-BOOM! action hijinks were rendered with joy and abandon. Indeed, this is one subwoofer that stood out because of what it didn’t do: The Optimum-10 never once exhibited any bloat, fuzzy rendering, or aural flatulence. If there were standing waves bouncing about my A/V room, they were barely noticeable. What the Optimum-10 delivered was honest, bona-fide bass: clear, crisp, and clean, with no sense of strain or needless rattling.

I will return the Optimum-10 to Velodyne with great reluctance. If there is a subwoofer out there that delivers the brand of honest sound that the Optimum-10 does, I want to hear it. But folks, I’m not sure it exists. The Optimum-10 is an outstanding audio product. Highly recommended.

Paradigm manufactures all manner of loudspeakers, from traditional floorstanding and bookshelf designs for stereo and home-theater applications to in-wall, in-ceiling, and even outdoor models. One of their most recently launched lines is the Reference Millenia (the misspelling is deliberate), which combines the slim, pleasing appearance required of "lifestyle" products with the high performance associated with the Paradigm Reference name.

The latest model to be added to this line is the MilleniaOne. Designed to be used as one of a stereo pair or as any speaker in a multichannel system, the MilleniaOne is an ultracompact model that can be mounted on a wall, stand, or shelf. It costs $250 USD each and is available as a stereo pair or a set of five. A matching Millenia subwoofer, wireless and similar in design to the slim Paradigm Reference RVC-12SQ, with dual, vibration-canceling drivers, will be available late in 2010 for $1399. For this review, Paradigm sent along their Reference Seismic 110 sub ($1399).

Description

The Paradigm Reference MilleniaOne is a diminutive 7.75"H x 4.5"W x 5.75"D, but it weighs a stout 5.6 pounds, or 6.6 pounds including the dedicated stand. Its shape is oval from the front, which gives it a softer, more rounded appearance than other Millenia models, which are quite angular. It uses the same 1" Satin-Anodized Pure-Aluminum (S-PAL) tweeter as the other Millenia models, and an all-new 4" S-PAL mid/woofer similar to that used in the step-up Studio line. The rock-solid enclosure of die-cast aluminum is said to act as a heatsink for the drivers to aid in cooling, and to permit larger, more powerful drivers than would normally be used in such a small speaker. Instead of being oriented at a right angle to the rear panel, the port extends the entire height of the enclosure, starting at the bottom and firing out near the top. This is claimed to extend bass response.

The spring-loaded speaker terminals, designed to accept bare wire of relatively light gauges, will not accommodate the large, audiophile-approved spades (or any spades) and banana plugs that I like to use. I ended up adding extensions to my existing speaker cables with some old AudioQuest F-14 wire I had lying around. On the plus side, even though the terminals are slightly recessed, a trough molded into the rear of the speaker makes it easy to guide the wires into place. The rear mounting plate is articulated so that it can be moved both horizontally and vertically, then tightened by hand. This plate can be replaced by a compact stand suitable for shelf placement. If the Ones are purchased as a five-speaker set, one of the stands is shorter and oriented horizontally, so that the One it supports can be used as a center-channel speaker. The One is available in décor-friendly Black Gloss or White Gloss finish, with matching, magnetically attached grille.

The Reference Seismic 110 subwoofer isn’t a Millenia model, but its unique appearance and small size will make it a "lifestyle" product in the eyes of most, and it’s similar in price to the forthcoming MilleniaSub. A short cylinder lying on its side, it measures only 13.75"W x 13.5"H x 12.6"D. Packed inside its tiny sealed enclosure is a unique 10" driver of mineral-filled copolymer polypropylene, with a Linear Corrugated Surround that permits greater, more linear excursion, and a split voice-coil that runs almost the entire length of the enclosure. The Seismic 110 is finished in satin black and weighs 37 pounds.

The Seismic 110’s high-excursion driver is powered by an 850W RMS class-D amplifier said to be capable of 1700W of dynamic power. There are the usual controls for output level, frequency cutoff continuously variable from 30 to 150Hz (with bypass option), continuously variable phase (0-180 degrees), and trigger or auto power. Inputs consist of a single XLR jack or a stereo pair of RCAs. A USB input is provided for connection of Paradigm’s optional Perfect Bass Kit (PBK) room-correction system ($300).

Setup

The MilleniaOnes are so small that their tweeters weren’t high enough, even when I set them on the 22"-high stands I had on hand. I ended up placing the Ones atop a pair of Paradigm Reference Signature S6 v.3s and C3 v.3 center-channel speakers, also in for review. The surrounds were placed in their usual position in my room: on 48"-tall stands to the sides of the listening position, angled slightly toward the rear of the room. I put the Seismic 110 in the right front corner, where room interactions are typically minimized -- which I confirmed by running the Anthem Room Correction (ARC) system in the Anthem Statement D2 A/V processor. I didn’t run PBK with the Seismic 110 sub, as ARC accomplishes essentially the same result.

ARC set the response cutoffs to 140Hz for the MilleniaOnes, and I adjusted the phase control on the Seismic sub to get the best bass integration possible. I noticed a touch of leanness in the upper bass that couldn’t be cured by moving the sub, adjusting the phase, or increasing the sub’s output, but this was quite minor in comparison to the system’s excellent overall sound. In fact, the integration of the speakers’ outputs was outstanding for a system comprising extremely small satellites, and better than anything I’ve achieved with other sat-sub systems of similar size.

Sound

To get an idea of the MilleniaOne’s performance, I first listened to a stereo pair without the aid of a subwoofer. As expected, they didn’t extend particularly low in the bass, but I was surprised at how big and powerful they did sound. Nils Lofgren’s guitar on "Keith Don’t Go," from Acoustic Live (CD, Vision 820761101422), was reproduced with a thrilling explosiveness. There was a good bit of weight behind the resonance of the guitar, and the strings had lightning-fast speed. About three minutes into this track, when things really get going, there was a natural richness to the sound, but the guitar never lost its tightly controlled character.

Although the MilleniaOne lacked deep bass, and was even a little light in the midbass, its midrange was exceedingly clear and neutral, as evidenced by its reproduction of voices. Listening to Steven Page and Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies was impressive. Their good-humored interplay on "If Had a $1,000,000," from Gordon (CD, Sire/Reprise 26956-2), flowed naturally from the large soundstage created by these speakers. The two voices were easily distinguishable, and well separated from the backing chorus, the sweet-sounding fiddle, and the lyrical accordion. The MilleniaOnes are intended to be used with a subwoofer, but listening to a pair of them alone let me hear how astonishingly good they were for a small satellite speaker.

Adding the Reference Seismic 110 sub to the array transformed the Ones into a remarkably coherent, full-range speaker system. I’ve been listening a lot lately to R.E.M.’s In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 (DVD-A, Warner Bros. 9 362483819), and it sounded excellent through the Millenia system in both its two- and multichannel mixes. Michael Stipe’s melancholy singing on "Nightswimming" was crisp and clean, as it should be, and the piano and strings were full-bodied. The overall sound was a little forward, but this gave voices a nice immediacy and palpability. The playful "Stand" had toe-tapping pace, supported by a huge soundstage that was anchored by a solid bass guitar. Delightful percussive sounds were placed throughout the soundstage, and the distorted electric guitar solo was in perfect tempo.

The wonderfully transparent midrange and the References’ ability to reach down to the lowest octaves with little noticeable distortion were amazing for a $2649 system, let alone such a compact lifestyle system. Pop music dominated by bass beats, such as Katy Perry’s "California Gurls," from Teenage Dream (CD, EMI 6 84601 2), went amazingly deep, and maintained a solid grip on the bass that was devoid of boominess. Even with all that driving bass, Perry’s cavalier lyrics and Snoop Dog’s rapping remained crystal clear.

The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Gladiator Blu-ray is a favorite of mine, and Paramount has reissued it with remastered video; its picture quality is now worthy of this Oscar-winning film and its outstanding soundtrack. Although the massive sounds of battle in this film can sometimes overwhelm speakers, the Millenia system kept everything in check without sacrificing dynamics or high output levels. In the opening scenes, the music and sounds of wind were calm and enveloping, unlike what was about to follow. When the battle began, the catapults and explosions, which can sound harsh through some systems, were frighteningly realistic and loud, but did not distort. During the rooftop chase in the BD edition of TheBourne Ultimatum, the speakers easily transitioned from the atmospheric musical score and the echoing sounds of birds to extreme dynamics as the chase moved inside, to claustrophobic hallways.

There is plenty of low bass throughout The Hurt Locker, but chapter 8, in which a desert patrol is ambushed by a sniper, will test the low-frequency extension and output of any system. As the final shot rang out and an empty shell casing fell to the ground in slow motion, the Paradigm system sent a low-frequency wave rolling through my room. The ominous rumble was truly subsonic, and completely filled the room without the subwoofer giving any sign of distress or any indication of its location. The launch sequence in Apollo 13 was not only loud and free from distortion at window-rattling levels, the coherence and integration of the outputs of the five identical satellites and the subwoofer were outstanding. Dialogue always remained intelligible, even as massive booster rockets roared, the orchestral score filled the background, and objects in the command module rattled. In fact, each element of this densely layered soundtrack was clearly and realistically reproduced, creating a believable 360-degree soundfield. Also musicians are avid gamblers and playing on the playground best online casino.

Comparison

$2649 is a fair amount for a small sat-sub system, but more than half of that is for the Seismic 110 subwoofer ($1399). At first glance that might seem disproportionate, but the MilleniaOne is so good that it deserves a sub of this caliber. And with a sub that can go as low and play as loud as the Seismic 110, there’s really no need for the MilleniaOne to reproduce much bass. This lets it concentrate on reproducing the midrange and treble frequencies, where it excels. Put the two together and you have a speaker system that doesn’t just sound good for a $2649 lifestyle system, it sounds good for a $2649 system, period.

I didn’t have another sat-sub system or even a budget speaker system on hand for direct comparisons, but I did have an array comprising Paradigm Reference’s Signature S6 v.3, C3 v.3, ADP3 v.3, and Sub 1 (total price $16,194). It might seem ridiculous to compare the MilleniaOnes and Seismic 110 to a system costing nearly six times as much, but both are Paradigm Reference systems, and there was a similar familial sound. Granted, the Signature system, with its much larger speakers all around, and the six-driver Sub 1, went even deeper and played noticeably louder, but the Millenia system will play plenty loud and deep for almost anyone in a small to mid-size room.

The clarity of the Millenia system’s midrange and treble were close to those of the Signatures, but the high frequencies weren’t as silky smooth. For example, though cymbals weren’t splashy with the Millenias, they lacked that sparkling quality exhibited by the Signatures’ wonderful beryllium tweeters. The acoustic guitar on Nils Lofgren’s "Keith Don’t Go" was powerful and dynamic through the Millenias, but the metallic sound of the strings lacked that last touch of refinement and detail that the Signatures deliver.

Although it couldn’t match the performance of the Signatures, the fact that the MilleniaOnes plus Seismic 110 could even be compared to such reference-quality speakers is quite an accomplishment for a décor-friendly lifestyle system. After all, many people don’t want a big, expensive speaker system like the Signatures. For those who want attractive lifestyle speakers that can be placed just about anywhere and won’t break the bank, this system will reward them with fantastic sound.

Conclusion

Lifestyle speakers -- those that melt into rather than dominate a room -- typically sacrifice some performance to achieve their compact size and good looks. But with the Paradigm Reference MilleniaOne speakers and Seismic 110 subwoofer, there was little such compromise. If I were looking for a compact lifestyle system, this one would be at the top of my list. The MilleniaOnes and Seismic 110 cost a little more than many small sat-sub systems, but cost a lot less than I would have expected considering their outstanding performance.

The ubiquity of portable music players like the Apple iPod has made headphones quite popular. But the tiny iPod lacks the cojones to adequately drive many of the better headphones, which really need a separate headphone amplifier. Headphone amps range from iPod-sized (designed to be part of a mobile music player) to huge units about the size of a VPI LP vacuum. And the costs of headphone amps range from under $100 to well into five figures.

If you want a good headphone amp but don’t want to spend much for it, where do you go? For a lot of folks, the answer is eBay, where you can find a number of Chinese-made headphone amps at low prices. Some of these are terrific bargains, but I suggest caution: The shipping charges may be high, and if it breaks, you’ll probably have to ship it back to China for repairs.

One way to avoid the risk of buying Chinese on eBay is to shop for US-made products -- such as the Asgard from Schiit Audio, which gives the Chinese crowd a run for their money. The Asgard’s price of $249 USD seems too low to qualify it as a high-end audio product, but the amp looks as if it costs far more, and has some very high-end design features. From Schiit’s website, we learn that the "Asgard is a fully discrete, class-A, single-ended FET headphone amplifier with no overall feedback and a non-inverting circuit topology. Its high-current design makes it uniquely suitable for low-impedance headphones." That means that its signal path contains no integrated circuits. I’m somewhat ambivalent about that, because I’ve heard some fabulous headphone amps that do use integrated circuits -- but when it came time for me to buy a headphone amp for my own use, I chose the Stello HP100, which also lacks ICs, and I’ve never regretted it.

A class-A circuit can produce very pure, accurate tonality, but it can also run very hot, and the Asgard was no exception to the latter tendency. Schiit’s cute, humorous owner’s manual warns you that the amp runs really warm, though not necessarily hotter than blazes! But it does.

About the company’s name: Yes, it’s pronounced just as you might think it would be. Why would company founders Jason Stoddard, formerly of Sumo, and Mike Moffat, formerly of Theta, pick such a name? I think they prized it for its ability to grab your attention; they certainly use it provocatively throughout their website, whose home page proclaims "You aren’t gonna believe this Schiit."

Description

I’ve seen $1000 amplifiers that don’t look as good as the Schiit Asgard. Its chassis is a thick sheet of brushed aluminum bent into an elongated U; a second U-shaped section, this one of black-painted steel, inserts into the rear of the unit, and on top is a perforated section for ventilation. The amp can be placed horizontally or vertically (in the latter orientation, the volume control is on the front panel’s lower half); stick-on feet let you choose.

The Asgard’s exterior is very simple: on the front panel are an aluminum volume control, a 0.25" headphone jack, and a white LED that tells you when the amp is turned on. At first, I wondered: Why white instead of the far more common blue? Then I bought a new computer, and noticed that all its indicator lights are white. Maybe white is the new blue.

On the rear panel are an IEC jack for the power (hooray, no wall wart -- another high-end feature), a toggle switch to turn the power on and off, and two RCA input jacks. That’s it -- elegant simplicity.

Setup and use

Many headphone enthusiasts have simple audio systems consisting of only a source component, an amplifier, and their ’phones. I set up such a system comprising the Asgard, a Sony SCD-XA5400ES SACD/CD player, and Sennheiser HD 650 or AKG K701 headphones. I plugged the Sony and Asgard into a Silver Circle Audio Juice Box, Jr., a two-outlet power filter well suited for providing clean power to a headphone system. I used Blue Marble Audio Blue Lightning power cords from the Juice Box to the Sony player and the Asgard. It may sound goofy to use power cords that cost almost twice as much as the amplifier, but these were the cheapest decent-sounding cords I had.

I’ve recently seen comments on websites to the effect that some audiophiles, and even some reviewers, seem to regard burning-in components as a hoax perpetrated by deranged reviewers; some even appear to take suggestions that they need to burn-in new gear as personal insults. I heartily agree that burning-in components is a pain in the posterior, but my ears tell me that burn-in does improve the sound of some equipment -- and let’s not ignore the fact that most manufacturers recommend the practice. Schiit Audio recommends burning in the Asgard for a week for best sound, so I gave it ten days with a TARA Labs burn-in CD. To my ears, it was well worth the effort; before burn-in, the sound was somewhat closed-in at the top; after, it was extended and open in the highs. Now, however, there was a slight emphasis in the highs. Back in the burn-in CD went for another week. Now the high end was smoother, and more open and extended.

The Asgard’s high operating temperature warrants another mention. During setup, I picked up the amp to move it a couple of feet, so that the headphone cord would reach my listening chair. It was so hot I almost dropped it. Outside of some tubed units, I’ve never seen any component run this hot. Unfortunately, the metal volume knob, which looks lovely, gets just as hot as the rest of the amp. I’d almost rather see a plastic knob.

I experimented with different interconnects, and settled on Crystal Cable’s CrystalConnect Piccolo because its radiant midrange complemented the Asgard.

Schiit touts the Asgard as being a particularly good match for Sennheiser headphones, and I hoped that would be true; while I own a pair of their HD 650s, I’ve never been a big admirer of the brand’s sound. Usually, after admiring Sennheiser ’phones’ huge bass, I quickly miss the high-frequency response, which I find rolled off and lacking in detail. But because Schiit recommends them, I used the HD 650s as the primary headphones for this review.

Sound

While the Schiit Asgard didn’t bless the Sennheiser HD 650s with super-extended highs, it did make listening to them more enjoyable. However, compared to other amplifiers I’ve used, I thought the Asgard rolled off the highs just a smidgen. Given the HD 650s’ tonal balance, the last thing they need is a high-frequency rolloff.

However, there’s no problem with HD 650s’ lows. These ’phones are capable of prodigious bass, and the Asgard elicited from them weighty, ultradeep bass extension. Jordi Savall and his ensemble romp lustily through "Folia Rodrigo Martinez," from La Folia 1490-1701 (CD, Alia Vox AFA 9805). One of the instruments played is a large drum with a frequency response that extends down into the mid-20Hz range. The Asgard drove the HD 650s effortlessly to reproduce the deepest response. I could hear how the drum loaded the room when it was enthusiastically whacked, and how its reverberation then decayed to silence.

Nor did I have any problem getting as much volume as I wanted. The volume control typically sat at the 12:30 position with most music I listened to.

To check out the Asgard’s handling of vocal music, I sampled A Sei Voci’s recording of Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere (CD, Astrée E 8524). The voices were quite smooth, and I could hear individual singers in the chorus. Headphones aren’t great for depicting information about the spatial qualities of a recording venue, but I could tell that the performance had been recorded in a medium-size room that had a bit of reverberation. This piece includes elaborate ornamentation of the basic melodies by the sopranos, who soar high above the other voices. There was a smidgen of HF rolloff that made the bass voices more prominent than the sopranos, however. To evaluate solo voice, I cued up Chris Jones’s "God Moves on the Water," from his Roadhouses and Automobiles (CD, Stockfisch SFR 357.6027.2), and clearly heard his gruff baritone. I also heard a subterranean bass guitar that went deeper than I had heretofore realized, even when listening with subwoofers.

My favorite track for evaluating how a component reproduces recordings of large-scale orchestral works is Kabalevsky’s Colas Breugnon overture, with the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Eiji Oue (CD, Reference RR-92 CD). I can’t say that the combination of Schiit Asgard and Sennheiser HD 650s re-created it perfectly, but they did full justice to the very low bass, and respectably well at reproducing the orchestra’s full percussion ensemble. At hi-fi shows, it usually takes speakers costing over $20,000/pair to convincingly reproduce this recording.

To check out the Asgard’s transient performance, I cued up "PercusienFa," from Eric Mongrain’s Fates (CD, Prophase Music MVDA4585), a solo guitar piece with scary-fast transients. The Asgard certainly didn’t lack energy; the transients were like physical blows to my eardrums. However, the transients’ leading edges seemed rounded, which in turn made it seem as if the highs were slightly rolled off.

With the AKG K701 headphones, while I heard lots of detail and somewhat more elevated HF response, I still wasn’t hearing all the highs -- some of the highest-frequency details were missing. The highs in "PercusienFa" were more evident than through the Sennheisers, making Mongrain’s guitar sound much more realistic. There’s a lot of HF content in guitar music, and the AKG K701s did more justice to it.

I was pleased to hear the Asgard producing deep bass with the K701s, whose bass response is, I think, plenty deep. However, if you think the HD 650s’ bass is just right, then I can see how you might think the AKGs are lacking in that department. With the K701s, the bass in the Colas Breugnon overture seemed nearly as deep and strong as through the HD 650s -- but with "Folia Rodrigo Martinez," the Sennheisers produced a notably deeper, fuller low end.

Comparison

Like the Asgard, my Korean-made Stello HP100 headphone amp ($595), which I reviewed in the June 2006 SoundStage!, uses discrete devices in its output stage. It has two inputs and a line-level output, so it can be used as a preamp in a small-scale system. It looks like a miniature preamplifier with a thick front panel, and its fit and finish are impeccable. Like a Ford Model T, the Stello comes in your choice of colors, as long as it’s black. It runs only slightly warm, so it’s probably not heavily biased into class-A.

With either pair of headphones, the Stello’s HF response was somewhat more extended than the Asgard’s. That surprised me; the last two headphone amps I reviewed, the HeadRoom Ultra Micro (June 2008) and the Blue Circle Audio SBH (September 2007), had sounded brighter than the Stello, and I’d decided that the Stello had perhaps a slight HF rolloff. In comparison to the Asgard, the Stello didn’t sound peaky, or as if it had a rising high end, but there was considerably more HF energy, with commensurately more detail and tonal accuracy in the sounds of musical instruments. The Stello gave both headphones frequency balances that sounded like those of good speakers. The result was that I actually enjoyed listening to the Sennheiser HD 650s, which I don’t always.

The Stello also seemed to have more punch and dynamic range than the Schiit; music through ’phones sounded more exciting, more realistic. But the Asgard had deeper, more powerful bass. I’ve already noted that the electric bass in Chris Jones’s "God Moves on the Water" sounded incredibly deep through the Asgard. When I listened to the same track with the Stello, Jones’s voice was noticeably easier to understand; I actually understood some lyrics that had sounded like mumbles through my speakers. That’s one of the standard strengths of headphones, of course, but it took the Stello amp to make it happen with this track.

Just for grins, I then tried the Sony SCD-XA5400ES SACD player’s built-in headphone amplifier. It was fairly decent, but rather anemic in the bass, and I had to crank the volume control all the way up to achieve adequate volume. Overall, music through the Asgard sounded way better -- a good illustration of why you need a separate headphone amp.

Wrap-up

In keeping with Schiit Audio’s recommendations, I primarily used Sennheiser’s HD 650 headphones to audition the Asgard. What I heard was potent bass, a smooth midrange, and a slightly rolled-off high end -- but I think that much of that rolloff can be attributed to the Sennheisers. With the flatter AKG K701 headphones, the rolloff was still present but less extreme. So just as you’d take care in matching an amplifier to the speakers you use, you need to do the same in picking the headphones you’ll use with the Asgard. I wish I could have tried the Asgard with the rather bright-sounding Beyerdynamic DT 880 headphones I reviewed in November 2006, but they’re long gone.

I’m impressed that Schiit Audio can produce a headphone amplifier for $249 that sounds and looks as if it costs $1000. And you don’t have to order it from some unknown Chinese company on eBay and pray you’ll actually see something for your money. If you need a good headphone amplifier at a price that seems silly cheap, I suggest you rush your order directly to Schiit via their website, before they come to their senses and raise the price.

Paradigm is a relatively large company by audiophile standards, whose core business is the design and manufacture of high-quality speakers at real-world prices. While probably best known for their many lower-priced models, Paradigm is able to exploit their advanced research and design facilities and large-scale manufacturing plant to create a line of flagship speakers, the Reference Signatures, at reasonable prices. I suspect that most boutique manufacturers would be hard-pressed to design speakers as technically advanced as Paradigm’s Reference Signatures for any price. While they cost considerably more than Paradigm’s entry-level models, I still consider them to be an excellent value for their outstanding performance for the price.

I’ve owned a pair of Paradigm’s original Reference Signature S8s since they made their debut in 2004.Since then, Paradigm has made many improvements to the Reference Signatures. The first major upgrade was a tweeter of pure beryllium (which Paradigm calls P-Be). Many speaker makers consider beryllium to be the best material currently available for tweeter domes, for its low mass, high strength and stiffness, and excellent thermal conductivity. Most recently, Paradigm has completely redesigned their Reference Signature woofers, and claims a 50% increase in output. With these and many other improvements, the latest, v.3 versions of the Reference Signature models should offer significantly better performance than the originals.

Paradigm sent me a pair of the relatively compact S6 v.3 floorstanders, presumably confident that they would compare favorably with my larger, original S8s. The S6 v.3 retails for $2899 USD each in the standard cherry finish; it’s also available in Natural Maple and Piano Black at additional cost.

Description

The Reference Signature S6 v.3 stands only 43.75”H x 8.25”W x 13.5”D, yet weighs a surprising 70 pounds. The cabinet is gently curved to reduce internal standing waves, and the crossover frequencies are specified as 190Hz and 2kHz. Two sets of high-quality binding posts are provided for biamping or biwiring, if desired.

Usually, product flyers from audio manufacturers contain mostly marketing hype, but Paradigm’s Reference Signature brochure provides a lot of technical detail. It’s apparent that a great deal of effort has gone into optimizing nearly every aspect of the speakers’ design. Paradigm’s patented IMS/Shock Mount fastening system decouples the drivers from the heavily braced cabinet, and high-quality crossover components and silver-coated oxygen-free copper wiring are used. More impressive is the advanced technology used in the drive-units, all of which are designed and built by Paradigm.

The 1” tweeter’s P-Be dome is “hot-formed” from a solid piece of beryllium instead of the more common vapor-deposit technique, resulting in a dome that Paradigm claims is measurably higher in strength and consistency. Two massive neodymium magnets are claimed to generate 20,000 gauss of magnetic energy at the voice-coil. The damping chamber behind the tweeter contains high-loss, foam acoustic dampers, as well as fins designed to break up and disperse residual internal resonances; fins on the outer surface act as heatsinks.

The 7” midrange cone is made of what Paradigm calls Co-PAL -- another proprietary material, this time of cobalt-infused aluminum, also said to have high stiffness and low mass -- and has a neodymium magnet whose magnetic field is claimed to be 15,000 gauss. The die-cast aluminum chamber has asymmetrical channels to dissipate the backwave, and is directly coupled to the magnet to transfer heat away from the motor structure. The chamber has high-loss felt dampers to reduce internal resonances, and exterior cooling fins.

The two 7” woofers have polypropylene cones with a higher mineral content to increase their stiffness, revised motor structures, and surrounds made of Non-Limiting Corrugated (NLC) Santoprene. According to Paradigm, the combination of these increases the output by 50% over earlier versions of this woofer. Previously, the tweeter and midrange outputs had to be curtailed to match the lower output of the woofers; now Paradigm says they’ve increased the outputs of the other drivers to match, with the result of a higher output for the speaker overall. On the front baffle, directly below the lower woofer, is the port.

The review samples looked gorgeous in Piano Black, which was finished to a very high standard. They also felt very solidly built. My only complaint was that the pressure-fit grilles seemed a bit fragile -- as if their plastic tabs might break off during installation or removal. Some might also object to the many exposed mounting screws on the drivers, and the visible holes for the grille tabs on the front baffle. Granted, the Signature S6 is designed to be used with its grille on, in which case these would be invisible. However, after listening for some time with the grilles on, I found that I preferred the sound without them. I did most of my listening that way, and suspect many audiophiles will do the same. I found that the high-tech-looking drivers, especially the woofers with their NLC surrounds, gave the Signature S6 a purposeful and muscular look.

Setup

With a few minor adjustments to fine-tune the imaging, the Reference Signature S6 v.3s took the places of my original S8s in my reference system: about 3’ from the front and side walls, and slightly toed in.

I listened to the S6 v.3s with and without my Statement D2’s Anthem Room Correction (ARC) engaged. The S6 v.3s sounded very good on their own with no room correction, but, as expected, ARC tightened the bass and made the midrange a bit more transparent, which in turn tightened up the imaging. As I always listen to my S8s with ARC engaged, that’s how I listened to the S6 v.3s.

Performance

Over the past several years I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the original Signature S8s. They have a big sound, with excellent bass extension and a neutral midrange accompanied by sweet but natural-sounding highs. The S6 v.3s indeed had a similar familial sound, but the new speakers sounded better -- a lot better.

I expected the S6 v.3 to be extraordinarily clean through the midrange and especially the treble, due in large part to that P-Be tweeter. What I didn’t expect was the incredible speed and slam in the bass from what is a fairly compact floorstander. Not only was the bass fast and articulate, there was plenty of weight behind it. Some speakers sacrifice bass extension for a quicker response, and end up sounding a little thin or lean. Other speakers, in trying to go lower, end up sounding boomy and inarticulate. Not so the S6 v.3. Down to almost the lowest audible frequencies, it was weighty and tightly controlled in a way I’ve never heard from such a compact cabinet. In combination with the Signature S6’s pristine midrange and treble, its nimble, visceral bass produced a strikingly vivid sound.

The reproduction of Rosanne Cash’s voice in “Western Wall,” from The Very Best of Rosanne Cash (CD, Columbia/Legacy 696998699625), was immaculate. The slight sibilance of her whispery, closely miked voice was reproduced beautifully, and placed high in the soundstage. The vibrant slap and twang of strings were finely demarcated from the resonance of the body of the acoustic guitar, which had an uncannily solid character.

The S6 v.3s easily moved from the big, bold sound of a good acoustic guitar to the diminutive sound of the ukulele on Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole’s Facing Future (CD, Mountain Apple 761268590121). The uke lacks a guitar’s attention-grabbing sustain, but the Signature S6s conveyed its delicate notes’ swift decays into this recording’s utterly “black” background. I could almost picture this giant of a man -- he was 6’ 2”, and at one point weighed 757 pounds -- from the short, labored breaths audible at the beginning of his medley of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World,” which he transforms into a disarmingly graceful vocal style. The imaging was limited to a relatively narrow space between the speakers, but the S6 v.3s conveyed every nuance of Iz’s voice and ukulele.

Just about any high-quality speaker can make an audiophile recording sound good, but the S6 v.3 made them sound exceptional. With less-than-stellar recordings, all of the speaker’s strengths were still clearly audible while revealing no weaknesses. Kiss’s MTV Unplugged (CD, Island/Mercury 731452895028) sounds decent for a live album, and was surprisingly clean and clear through the Paradigms. The voices of Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss were easily identifiable as they took turns singing the verses of “Rock and Roll All Nite,” with Paul Stanley joining in on the chorus. The multiple acoustic guitars were spread uniformly across the soundstage, and I could even hear Bruce Kulick outshine original bandmember Ace Frehley in their respective guitar solos. The opening drumbeats were deep and tight, and even with two drum kits, three acoustic guitars, and an acoustic bass, I could distinctly hear, behind the group, the appreciative noises of the crowd. The less frenetic “Rock Bottom” sounded even better, the scintillating guitars and clearly audible bass guitar complementing Stanley’s voice, which has survived the ravages of time better than have those of his bandmates.

About the only shortcoming of the S6 v.3 was its inability to play extreme low bass. Rosanne Cash’s “Western Wall” is one of SoundStage! Network editor-in-chief Jeff Fritz’s reference recordings for subterranean bass because it contains important musical information in the 20Hz area. The S6 v.3 hinted at but could not fully reproduce the subtle but amazingly deep foot stomps 25 seconds into this track. However, when I switched in the six 8” drivers and two 850W amplifiers of the Paradigm Reference Signature Sub 1 subwoofer ($4499 in Cherry), those foot stomps were reproduced with amazing authority -- as if someone were actually stomping on my listening-room floor. But even without the stomps, “Western Wall” sounded powerful and full-bodied through the Reference Signature S6s. Getting those last few hertz out of a high-performance system is not easy to do, and usually requires a very capable subwoofer, or much larger and more expensive speakers. So it wasn’t unexpected that the S6 v.3s couldn’t reproduce those ultralow frequencies.

Listening to the 24-bit/96kHz download of Iver Kleive’s pipe-organ version of Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (FLAC, 2L/HDtracks), you wouldn’t think anything was missing from the S6 v.3’s bass -- this track doesn’t quite dip into the lowest registers. In fact, adding the Sub 1 only marginally improved the bass response of this track; even without the sub, the S6 v.3s wonderfully re-created the organ’s solid, room-filling sound.

Comparison

While the original Signature S8 ($2700-$3000 each when available, depending on finish) is a considerably larger speaker with two additional bass drivers, the Signature S6 v.3 was clearly superior. The S8 was able to play back the 20Hz tone from the Hsu Research/Boston Audio Society Test CD 1 at a considerably higher level than the S6 v.3, but it sounded noticeably looser than the S6 v.3 when reproducing the 31.5 and 40Hz tones. With music -- such as “Poker Face,” from Lady Ga Ga’s The Fame Monster (Deluxe Edition) (CD, Streamline/Interscope 0602527210360) -- the S8’s greater bass extension was pleasing, but came at the expense of some speed and definition that slightly detached the beat from the rest of the music.

The S8 may have been able to reach a little lower, but through the midbass and up the S6 v.3’s superior neutrality and transparency were readily apparent. Everything was just a bit cleaner through the S6s, image outlines clearly snapping into focus where they were slightly blurred with the S8s. Paul Stanley’s fervent singing on Kiss’s “Rock Bottom” was less distinct from the multiple acoustic guitars, and Gene Simmons’ voice was more difficult to identify in the backing vocals. Through the S8s, the violin of soloist Marianne Thorsen, on her disc of Mozartviolin concertoswith the Trondheimsolistene (24/96 FLAC, 2L/HDtracks), also lacked that last touch of transparency that made individual notes blend slightly together. The S8s gave the orchestral strings a lovely, warm sound, but with a more homogenous quality that masked the melody and robbed the music of some pace. Through the S6 v.3s, the orchestra still sounded rich and luxurious, and Thorsen’s violin was placed solidly between the speakers with power and authority. I enjoy listening to this fantastic string-ensemble recording at lifelike (high) levels; with the S6 v.3s, it never became fatiguing.

Conclusion

Given the Paradigm Reference Signature S6 v.3’s ambitious design, exceptional construction quality, and what I heard from them, I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that it cost $10,000/pair or more. Then again, if anyone could produce such a high-performing speaker for about $6000/pair, it would be Paradigm, with their advanced R&D facilities and modern manufacturing methods. The Reference Signature S6’s combination of ultrasmooth treble, perfectly integrated midrange, and unexpectedly articulate bass make it a speaker that simply must be heard to be appreciated. Its lack of coloration, extremely high power handling, and wide, smooth frequency response allowed it to play back any type of program material without fault.

In short, the Reference Signature S6 v.3 is a remarkable achievement: a technologically advanced product that is beautifully constructed and sounds absolutely amazing. The fact that a pair of them can be had for only $5798 makes it a relative bargain in the world of high-end audio.

I will soon retire my original Signature S8s and replace them with the S6 v.3s in my reference system. The new speakers are a sheer pleasure to listen to, day in and day out, with absolute neutrality, smooth, extended highs, and surprisingly dynamic bass. When introduced, Paradigm’s original Reference Signature models set a benchmark for performance, price, and craftsmanship. Judging by the S6 v.3, with the newest Reference Signatures Paradigm maintains their leadership position in manufacturing terrific products at reasonable prices.

Definitive Technology has remained the brainchild of founder Sandy Gross for 20 years now, and the US speaker company has a long and distinguished record of innovation. Each of the small ProMonitor models, for example, has a passive radiator that fires through its top panel to extend the bass response. Another recent example is the Mythos STS, with its built-in, racetrack-shaped subwoofer in a superslim cabinet, and which earned the SoundStage! Network Aesthetics & Sound Award in 2008.

Gross recently retired from Definitive Technology, and VP Paul DiComo has taken over the product-development reins. DiComo has a long history with successful speaker companies, having come to DefTech from Polk Audio several years before. The Mythos XTR-50 is the first Definitive speaker whose development he has entirely overseen, from vision to final product. I was excited to hear if the sound quality of this ultrathin speaker matched its state-of-the-art looks.

Mythos XTR-50: outside

The Mythos XTR-50 ($699 USD each) measures 27"H x 6"W x 1.5"D and weighs 5.1 pounds. When I first saw the speaker, I was struck by its flatness -- in person, with its tapered sides, it looks even thinner than 1.5"; my impression was of the blade of a machete. It felt all of a piece, as if machined from a solid piece of aluminum, with no looseness or rattling. The rear panel is nearly flat, with indents for mounting the speaker directly on the wall, or with the included mounting bracket. The smooth, high-gloss finish will easily match the finish of most flat-panel TVs.

The unusual design of the binding posts is perhaps my only complaint about the XTR-50’s user friendliness, though it’s clear that some sort of compromise is necessary in so flat a speaker -- conventional binding posts would be too big, and force the speaker away from the wall. You must first thread bare wire (14 gauge maximum) into a green connector, then snap the connector into the back of the speaker. Make sure you push the connector all the way in, or the speaker won’t work.

Included are stands for vertically or horizontally mounting the XTR-50 on a table. The vertical stand is a thing of beauty, cosmetically matching the speaker’s shiny gloss appearance. Although the stands are plastic, with a glass bottom, they bolt easily to the speaker to give a one-piece look. For an even cleaner appearance, you can feed speaker wire through the legs of the stand to the binding posts. The wire channel, however, is small; it won’t accept wire larger than 16 gauge.

The horizontal mount, for center-channel duty, is simple: Two feet screw into the XTR-50’s rear panel. This lets the speaker’s weight rest on the feet and the speaker’s bottom edge. The XTR-50’s tilt can be adjusted by screwing the feet in and out.

Mythos XTR-50: inside

Looking at the Mythos XTR-50, it wasn’t obvious that its grille could be removed until Paul DiComo pointed it out to me. (It’s held in place with magnets.) Centrally placed is a 1" aluminum-dome tweeter that’s voiced similarly to those in the other speakers in DefTech’s Mythos line. It’s built slightly differently, though, because of the XTR-50’s thinness.

The two 3.5" mid/bass drivers are all new for the Mythos XTR-50. Because of the design constraints of a thin speaker, conventional woofers wouldn’t work -- a high-power-handling voice-coil can easily be longer than the XTR-50’s 1.5" depth. Instead, Definitive Technology’s design team has coupled the voice-coil to the enclosure, so that heat can be dissipated without requiring the space-gobbling heatsink of a conventional voice-coil.

Most designers extend a small speaker’s bass response with a port. With the slender Mythos XTR-50, however, a conventional port would be too small, and would result in audible chuffing. Instead, the bass response is extended using four 3.5" passive radiators. As their name implies, these aren’t directly driven by an amplifier, but move in and out in response to the pressure created in the cabinet by the two amplified drivers. The result, according to DefTech, is decent bass response down to 92Hz -- unimpressive for a conventional speaker, but remarkable for one so thin, and one that, anyway, is designed to be used with a subwoofer.

Mythos Gem surround speaker

Compared to the Mythos XTR-50, the Mythos Gem on-wall surround speaker ($279 each) looks like a conventional bookshelf model. Enthusiasts of thin speakers will be put off by the fact that it’s a disgusting 4.25" deep. But since the Mythos Gem won’t normally flank a flat-panel TV, the depth should be fine in most rooms.

The design is unconventional. The front-firing 1" tweeter is normal enough, but the two forward-firing 3.5" mid/bass cones, one above and one below the tweeter, are respectively angled to the right and left. This effectively gives the Gem the wide dispersion of a bipolar speaker in a cabinet with a narrow front baffle. The Gem measures 10.25"H x 4.125"W x 4.25"D and weighs 4.5 pounds.

SuperCube II subwoofer

In choosing a subwoofer to accompany this system, Paul DiComo ran some tests and felt that the best match would be the SuperCube II ($899). A cute little thing with a volume of only 1 cubic foot (12.5"H x 12"W x 12"D), it hides some potent hardware under its black-cloth grille: a 1250W amplifier that drives an 8" woofer, and two 8" passive radiators. The cabinet is made of 2"-thick Medite, an environmentally friendly material similar to MDF. The entire chassis is solid, hefty for its size at 42 pounds, and finished with a high-gloss top panel.

The control panel on the rear has both left- and right-channel speaker-level inputs and outputs and line-level ins and outs. There are knobs for adjusting the high- and low-pass crossovers and to continuously vary the phase -- rarely seen, these controls are very useful for matching the sub with any main speaker.

Setup

After taking delivery of the Mythos XTR-50 system, I was fortunate to have Paul DiComo come by my house and help with the setup. This was the first set of review speakers I’d had in the basement home theater of my new house. The room is 23’L x 16’W by 8’H, with a 92" projection screen on the long wall. My listening seat is 14’ from the screen; sitting there, DiComo detected a bass suckout. Knowing how the SuperCube II should sound in most rooms, he was unsatisfied with the bass response no matter where he put it. "Another SuperCube II will help even out the bass response," he said. "I’ll send you one."

Once the second SuperCube II had arrived and been set up, the layout was as follows: front left and right Mythos XTR-50s on the wall, flanking my screen; center-channel Mythos XTR-50 below the screen, 18" above the floor; and Mythos Gem surrounds on stands near the back wall. Finding satisfying locations for the two subs took some work, but I settled on the right sidewall 4’ from the front wall and, along the front wall, 3’ to the left of the left front speaker. The sub crossovers were set for 100Hz in my receiver.

I first tried the Mythos XTR-50s on the supplied stands near the wall, but for best performance, wall mounting won out. Unlike freestanding speakers, the XTR-50 is designed to work with the wall, which reinforces the upper-bass response and results in greater transparency and a better blend with the output of the subwoofer(s). That’s what I heard.

Sound

With the Mythos XTR-50 system set up and me settled in my listening chair, I was astonished by what I heard. Given the paper-thin depth of the XTR-50 compared to most other speakers out there, I couldn’t believe the quality and quantity of sound. This system will play loud. As a carriage drawn by galloping horses careens through the street in the opening scene of Sherlock Holmes (2009), the soundtrack of the Blu-ray edition makes good use of all five speakers and the subwoofers. This system really cooked, with a beautiful blend of the surround and front channels, and a seamless blend of the output of each satellite and the sound from the subs. The scene begins with the horses neighing in the left surround channel, which the Mythos Gem threw well to the left of the left surround speaker. The horses’ hooves and Hans Zimmer’s intense music pounded through the SuperCube IIs. Remarkably, as I turned up the volume, the XTR-50 mains kept up. I heard none of the dynamic compression or cabinet ringing that I expected, given the speakers’ thinness. Dialogue was completely understandable throughout this scene. This was coherence at its best.

The high-frequency performance of the Mythos XTR-50 is similar to that of other Definitive Technology speakers I’ve heard: neutral, but slightly on the analytical side. Like the best high-end speakers, these mains were revealing enough to make lousy recordings sound as they should -- bad. The XTR-50 didn’t gloss over edgy CDs from the 1980s, but rewarded me with superb sound when the recordings were superb. One such is Patricia Barber’s Nightclub (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab CMFSA2004), a two-channel-only SACD/CD. Listening to the bass solo in "Autumn Leaves" through the Mythos XTR-50s was riveting, with all the fine detail of the sound of each plucked string lovingly reproduced.

With this same recording, the blending of the sound from the main speakers with that from the SuperCube II subwoofers was fantastic. On its own, bass through the Mythos XTR-50 was lacking; it was hard to tell, for instance, whether or not I was listening to an acoustic bass or an electric bass guitar. But that’s why you need a well-matched subwoofer. Pairing the XTR-50s with the SuperCube IIs resulted in a balanced full-range sound. If the subwoofer or the main speakers produce too much or too little energy in the transition zone where the outputs of the satellites and subs blend, the sound can be muddy. With the XTR-50s and SuperCube IIs, however, the double bass in "Autumn Leaves" was gratifyingly balanced and deep.

The nimbleness of the 8" woofer in the SuperCube II gave a quality of bass that was quick and light, matching the sound of the XTR-50s. It’s one thing to get the outputs of the Mythos XTR-50 and SuperCube II to jell; it’s quite another to get slam satisfying enough for home theater. This was where the second SuperCube II made its presence known. With the second sub, I had the best of both worlds -- bass with power and definition. With the Blu-ray of 2012, the subwoofers rattled my walls and ceiling with every toppled building and falling boulder. Although two of these subs isn’t a cheap proposition at $1798, it competes with and surpasses most single subwoofers near that price in my room. As your room will be configured differently, your mileage might vary; a single $2000 subwoofer may perform as well.

Although not a visual match for the Mythos XTR-50s, the diminutive Mythos Gems performed like champs with the left and right surround channels. The film Shutter Island contains a great range of scenes and atmospheres, from prison cells to stormy weather. With the Mythos XTR-50s, the Mythos Gems reproduced the enveloping surround environments of the Blu-ray edition, playing much bigger than their size would suggest.

Comparisons

I had a couple of interesting speaker arrays on hand to compare with the Mythos XTR-50 system ($4453): Definitive Technology’s own ProCinema 1000 system ($1724) and the Angstrom Suono on-wall system ($2194). Although these are significantly cheaper than the Mythos XTR-50 system, the latter included two subwoofers; the former had only one.

Neither of the other two systems could match the stunning industrial design of the Mythos XTR-50, and that’s where many shoppers will end their search. The Mythos XTR-50 matches up perfectly with flat-panel TVs, especially the latest, 1"-thin ones. The Angstrom Suono 300S is handsome, but slightly less refined looking than the Mythos. And although the Suono 300S is thin, it will look bulky next to a really slim TV.

The Angstrom Suono 300S system sounded darker and less revealing than the Mythos XTR-50. This would make the Angstrom a better match for a casual system, where you’re not listening for that last ounce of detail. I listened to "S’Wonderful," from Diana Krall’s The Look of Love (SACD/CD, Verve 34 589 597-2); in comparison to the Mythos XTR-50, the strings sounded as if there were an extra layer of cloth between my ears and the speakers. However, the Angstrom system’s strength was its better bass response, which might make matching its mains to other subwoofers an easier proposition. You might even get away with no sub at all if floor space is at a premium, something that can’t be said for either Definitive system. And the Angstrom’s value for the buck is high; the Angstrom 300S main speakers cost only $399 each.

I was floored by the sound of Definitive Technology’s ProMonitor 1000 bookshelf system. I hadn’t had this system set up in a while, and had forgotten how great it is. What had me in a tizzy was these affordable little speakers’ imaging prowess. Being freestanding, they can be toed in to dial in the soundstage. The imaging is so good I can "see" the bassist’s fingers moving along the strings in "Autumn Leaves," from Patricia Barber’s Nightclub. The imaging specificity wasn’t as pronounced with either the wall-mounted Angstroms or the Mythos XTR-50s.

Also in-house was a single Monitor Audio RXW-12 subwoofer ($1300), which I compared with a single DefTech SuperCube II. This 12" subwoofer is slightly bigger than the SuperCube II, and has a couple of EQ settings for boosting the bass for movies or for a flatter response with music. Although as tuneful as the SuperCube II with music, the RXW-12 couldn’t compete with the DefTech’s two additional passive radiators. When I watched the Blu-ray of Star Trek (2009), the SuperCube II played this dynamic soundtrack quite a bit louder throughout the film.

Conclusion

In my extensive auditioning of Definitive Technology’s Mythos XTR-50 system, I was amazed at the dynamic capability and refined sound of these compact speakers. Each model -- mains, surrounds, and subwoofers -- blended together to provide a well-balanced soundfield that I found very involving when watching movies or listening to music. Because it is so revealing, the Definitive Mythos XTR-50 is best matched with good electronics. If you do, you’ll be rewarded with phenomenal sound to match these speakers’ great looks. Add it all up and you have one heck of a good surround-sound system.

The latest member of the Squeezebox family of digital music players refines some of the features of previous models, such as the Squeezebox Classic, while adding many new ones. The most obvious difference is its bright, 4.3"-wide touchscreen, but this amazing little box has a lot more to offer. Still, its design is unprepossessing for an audiophile product -- it’s almost entirely plastic, and looks more like something that a store would display with the clock radios instead of with the audio gear. In fact, one review I read found fault with it for costing $299.99 USD -- a very high price for a clock radio, that writer thought.

The Touch is not a clock radio. It’s an audiophile streaming device capable of handling 24-bit/96kHz music files that also happens to include clock-radio functions among its many extras -- so many extras that, rather than being too expensive, it’s a bargain.

Description

The Logitech Touch measures almost 6”W x 3.57”H x 3.18”D, with a screen 4.3”W x 2.2”H. The front is smooth, with no controls or ports, its sleek, shiny surface decorated only with a discreet Logitech logo. The touchscreen and case are tilted back about 30° from vertical (the angle can’t be adjusted). On the back are a headphone socket, a pair of analog RCA outputs, optical and coaxial digital outputs, an Ethernet port, and a USB output for attaching an external hard drive. The headphone output can be used for external powered speakers if you’re connecting the Touch to an external drive and using the Touch’s own internal server, the Tiny SBS. (Smoothing out the Tiny SBS functions was one of the main reasons the Touch was released five months after its initial street date.) On one side is a nearly invisible slot for inserting an SD card. Since music releases on SD cards seem more in music’s future than its present (Cardas has put out a few, and there are rumors of others), this seems a feature that for now will be used mostly by photographers. The Touch’s digital-to-analog converter is an AKM Semiconductor AK4420 stereo chip. The Touch produces 2V RMS output on the RCA outputs. The Touch is claimed to be bit-perfect to 24/96 and will play these file formats: FLAC, AIFF, WAV, Apple Lossless, WMA Standard, MP3, AAC/HE-AACv2, and HD-ACC.

Also included is a power cord incorporating a transformer to be plugged into the wall, an infrared remote control, two AA batteries, RCA stereo analog connection cables, a cloth for wiping the screen (Logitech cautions against using anything abrasive), and an instruction book. One of Logitech’s greatness weaknesses over the years has been a lack of printed instructions, so I approached this 156-page volume with great hope -- only to find that its heft was the result of its ten pages of very basic information in English being duplicated in 12 other languages. There is another manual, Getting to Know Logitech Touch WiFi Music Player; you can find, read, and download it here.

Connecting the Touch

The presence of the Touch’s internal server, the Tiny SBS, means that one could simply connect the Touch to an external drive containing music files and plug a pair of powered speakers into the Touch’s headphone jack. The typical user, however, will probably want to use the Touch to stream music stored on a computer to a main audio/video system. To do this, you must download to your computer Logitech’s free Squeeze Center software; the Touch can then be configured to work with either a wireless router, or hardwired with an Ethernet connection. You select Wired or Wireless operation during the setup, an incredibly simple process. For the most part the Touch worked well wirelessly, though the sound dropped out once in a while, which might not have happened had my computer and audio system not been 30’ and several walls apart. Hardwiring them together with a 50’ Ethernet cable solved the problem.

The Touch did most of the searching for networks and addresses, but should you have a problem with this, you can call a toll-free number: (877) 887-8889. Logitech’s Squeezebox help line is possibly the best in the industry -- as complete and detailed as its printed manuals are incomplete and general. I found that the technicians really did try to help me. Most of my inquiries were solved at Level One, but if your problem is thornier, you can be transferred to Level Two, where you’ll be assisted by engineers who really know the product. Addressing customer problems and complaints is one of Logitech’s primary ways of gathering information that needs to be incorporated into future firmware updates, so they’re interested in getting things to work right.

Using the Touch

The Touch’s home screen gives you a choice of basic functions: My Music, Internet Radio, Settings, etc. Select one by tapping it directly on the touchscreen, or by using the right arrow button on the remote. You’re then taken to another menu, where you can make a more specific choice, and then perhaps to a third menu for more options. To return to a previous menu, swipe left or use the remote’s left-arrow button. It’s more complex to describe than it is to do. I found all of the menus to be clear and intuitive -- in a phrase, user-friendly. The touchscreen was very sensitive and easy to use -- I never had to tap a desired function more than once -- and every bit as responsive as my Apple iTouch.

Readers who haven’t played music from downloaded files will find the Touch’s controls very much like those of a CD player: Play, Stop, Pause, Chapter Skip forward and back. The Touch has one thing the Squeezebox Classic lacked: fast forward, activated by using a slider bar on the touchscreen. Using fast forward via the remote control hadn’t yet been finalized at the time of writing, but will probably involve holding down the Chapter Skip button.

The following comments apply mostly to using the Touch as a device to play files from a computer. All commands can be given by tapping the touchscreen or pressing a key on the remote. The remote control works pretty much as did the one with the original Squeezebox and, also like that remote, has no touchscreen of its own. Some people feel that this was a mistake, and that the touchscreen should have been on the remote rather than on the Touch itself. Whether or not you agree will depend on how far you are from the Touch when using it. My Touch is just to my right on a shelf about 2.5’ away, so it’s easy for me to use the remote to scroll through titles while looking at the Touch’s screen. Moreover, the Touch’s remote has one very useful search feature not on the Touch itself: You can use the numbered keys to display letters of the alphabet, just as you would a telephone keypad. For instance, if you tap 2 (ABC) three times, the program will take you to the beginning of the Cs (a big letter C is displayed on the screen), and you can scan down from there. Or say you want to search something at the end of the Cs: You can click 3 (DEF) once to get to D, then scan up into the Cs. The scan accelerates the longer you hold down the direction button; until you get the hang of it (it won’t take long), you might find yourself zipping by your chosen title. I found this much easier than using my clumsy fingers on the screen itself.

In another search function available on the remote, you click in the first two or three letters of the entry you want, but this is slower than getting to the first letter and scrolling up or down. How you can search depends on how you’ve set up your music library. I use iTunes and can search by album title, artist name, genre (particularly handy in December), and year of release. The information for the Touch remote’s commands can easily be loaded into a universal remote control. I’d already set up and configured my Harmony 890 universal remote for the Squeezebox Classic, and was delighted to find that all of those controls worked for the Touch as well.

Information can be displayed on the Touch’s screen in different ways. You can choose a background from among nine offered; few will want to keep the default, because letters are hard to read against its background. I settled on Harmony, a combination of purple and dark blue in which words and titles stood out better. If your music files are tagged with the album cover, the Touch will display it while that album is playing. You can choose from among several Now Playing displays: album cover plus text, album cover alone, text alone, a pair of analog VU meters, or a spectrum analyzer. You select the display you prefer in the Settings menu, then tap the screen or click the Now Playing button to cycle them in succession. You can also choose a screen saver that will appear when the player is stopped or playing.

But if you sit far away from the Touch when you listen, or are on the move, you’ll probably want to get a different remote. The Touch automatically displays small text when you tap the screen and large text when you use the remote, but if you’re more than 5-6’ away, the screen is not easy to read. In that case, you can either purchase Logitech’s remote controller, or an Apple iTouch (or iPhone) configured with the iPeng app ($9.95). Then you can use all of the amazing features of the iTouch as well.

Other features

In addition to being a music player, the Touch has many other features, the most important of which is its ability to access Internet Radio. Though you must have your computer on to stream music from it, the radio feature will work whether your computer is on or off. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of stations from which to choose, and they are well organized by category on the Touch menu. I found that stations varied widely in terms of features. For instance, some would give a readout listing the song currently playing and perhaps the artist as well, but other stations offered nothing more than their own names. You can always get more information on stations, including the broadcast frequency by pressing “+” on the remote and selecting More Information.

If you log on to www.mysqueezebox.com (registration required), you can select apps to use with your Touch. Some of these, such as Rhapsody, are pay-as-you-go, but many are free. One of the most interesting, the Live Music Archive, I first discovered while writing about websites that offered HD downloads; here you’ll find hundreds of free legal recordings made by fans at concerts. It’s a voyage of discovery to surf the Archive, which contains performances by many musicians who are not household names. But you’ll find Dave Matthews and the Smashing Pumpkins, as well as the largest collection of Grateful Dead concerts you could imagine.

And you can use that SD card slot on the side of the Touch to display slide shows of photos taken with your digital camera. Later, if and when music on SDs becomes commonplace, you’ll be able play those as well. And mustn’t forget -- you can set the Touch to function as an alarm clock, and a rather sophisticated one at that.

Support

Squeezebox products are constantly updated through their network connections -- in the three or four weeks I had the Touch hooked up, it received eight or nine updates. I would turn on the Touch, and there’d be a message on the screen telling me an update was available. Then I’d highlight and tap the correct frame to begin the download. Downloading each update took only a few minutes, and then I was ready to go. I welcome such updates; they let me know that I own a piece of equipment that is being kept current, and not being allowed to lapse into an early obsolescence. Every firmware update has caused some function to run a bit more smoothly or opened up possibilities for the future. For instance, a Logitech technician told me that one thing the company is now working on is a deal with Amazon.com that would allow cover art to appear automatically, without the user having to search for it. That and other new features will be made available through automatic firmware updates.

And if you’re going to own a Squeezebox Touch, you’d best be prepared to visit Logitech’s forum, either when you need to, or just once in a while to see what’s new. The forum is for customers but is monitored by Logitech’s senior engineers; if you have a problem or suggestion and post it on the forum, you’ll get pertinent comments from an engineer that will help your situation. Many forum members are deeply conversant with computers and constantly tweak their systems, but others simply want to know how to best configure their Touch for their needs. On the forum you can find out about plug-ins that you can add to the Touch to personalize it (there are already several for the clock, and one to make those aforementioned VU meters look sexier). Bottom line: You can be assured that buying a Touch is not a dead-end purchase but an ongoing adventure. Few companies offer such support.

System

My disc player these days is an Oppo BDP-83 universal Blu-ray player. I use a Yamaha RX-V661 receiver as a preamplifier, my main power source being an Outlaw 750 five-channel amplifier. My speakers are all MartinLogan: two Ascents and a Theater in the front, three Aeriuses for the surround channels, and a Descent subwoofer. Because I ran the Yamaha in Pure Direct mode for this review and the Touch supports only stereo recordings, not surround sound, 95% of the time the Ascents ran full-range on their own. With a few recordings, particularly of pipe organ, that included very-low-frequency bass, I found it fun to use Yamaha’s Neural Surround setting, which kicks in the subwoofer and surround channels.

Sound

Though its 24/96 DAC was the single feature of the Squeezebox Touch that I was most looking forward to, I thought I should first try the Logitech with some Apple Lossless files while I still had good aural memories of how they sounded through the Squeezebox Classic. One recording I know backward and forward is España, with the late, great Ataulfo Argenta conducting the London Symphony Orchestra (CD, Decca Legends 466 378-2). I created both Apple Lossless 16-bit/44.1kHz and AIFF 16-bit/48kHz files from this CD a few years back, and had used Chabrier’s España to test the Squeezebox Classic. It sounded just as splendid via the Touch. The opening pizzicato flourishes had palpable presence and good tone, the cymbals had sheen and sparkle, and the bass was solid as the proverbial rock. Better yet, it had more stereo separation than through the Classic, and better imaging. I often play this recording for guests, but only later do I tell them that it’s a digital file made from a 1957 master tape, just to see their jaws drop in disbelief. Talk about a recording that has stood the test of time!

I then ran through a whole group of Apple Lossless files I’d made from CDs at 16/44.1, of all genres, from classical to rock. All passed with flying colors. In general, regardless of genre, they seemed to bear out the promise of the Chabrier: better stereo separation, better imaging, and excellent frequency response. Once in a while one wouldn’t sound quite as good as the rest, but on going back to the original CD I would find that the fault lay there and not with the Touch. More often the file would sound better than the CD: a bit sweeter, and closer to what’s generally thought of as “analog” sound. Curious, but welcome, for a digital device.

Then I delved into the 24-bit/48kHz and 24/96 files I’ve downloaded from various sites over the past two years. Almost all of the hi-rez files I have were downloaded in FLAC format, and then, using dBpoweramp, converted to AIFF at 24/48 or 24/96. The Touch will handle FLAC files, but iTunes, where my music library resides, will not, hence the need to convert them.

All of the 24/48 files sounded absolutely satisfying through the Touch. The cycles of Alwyn, Bax, and Nielsen symphonies I’d downloaded from the Chandos site at 24/48 had superb transparency with lots of air around the strings, which sounded sweet and pure. With 24/96 files I heard, as expected, sound comparable to what I’ve been hearing for years now from SACD and DVD-Audio discs. The only drawback was that the Touch doesn’t support these recordings’ surround channels. Other than that, the files sounded identical to the two-channel hi-rez tracks on my HD discs. I tried several titles downloaded from www.hdtracks.com. First was Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, with Eiji Oue conducting the Minnesota Orchestra (24/96 AIFF, Reference/HDtracks). It was completely convincing: sweet, accurate string sound, a wide soundstage, and imaging that gave a breathtaking idea of the depth of that stage. The strings were in front, the woodwinds centered slightly behind them, and the brass and percussion at the rear, even when playing loudly. The overall effect was lush, with excellent definition.

I then selected an oldie but a goody, also downloaded from HDtracks: Getz/Gilberto, by Stan Getz and João and Astrud Gilberto (24/96 AIFF, Verve/Universal/HDtracks). The gently scintillating “The Girl from Ipanema” was the monster hit from this album that introduced bossa nova to American listeners back in 1963. For comparison, I’d also downloaded the 16/44.1 CD version as an Apple Lossless file. It was pleasing, but the 24/96 version was more so, with greater stereo separation and superior imaging: each singer or player was placed in a precise location. This gentle music is loaded with expressive nuances, such as lightly struck cymbals and rhythmic yet deliberately subdued piano and guitar, all countered by the crunchy and somewhat demanding sound of Getz’s tenor saxophone.

The Rachmaninoff was sampled from a 24/96 master recording, but Getz/Gilberto was, of course, recorded in analog. This is a source of great debate on many audiophile forums: Do analog recordings actually need 24/96 downloads, or is it overkill? My brain said, yes, it’s overkill, but my ears told me that the 24/96 file sure sounded sweeter. To hear more hi-rez recordings that were actually recorded at hi-rez in the first place, I turned to Linn Records. First up was a favorite by jazz singer Ian Shaw, Lifejacket (24/88.2 AIFF, Linn/HDtracks). “Love at First Tequila” features rapid-fire singing over quick-stroke drumming, saxophone obbligato, and occasional supporting vocals, all buoyed by a solid bass line. I could easily hear the individual threads, even as the overall tapestry remained intact. That I could understand every word of Shaw’s quicksilver patter was mostly due to the singer’s artistry, but also to the quality of the recording. I was impressed by the Touch’s reproduction of such complex music.

Along those lines, there’s scarcely any music more complex than a Mahler symphony, and Linn offers a 24/96 download of the composer’s Symphony 6 with the Duisberg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jonathan Darlington (24/96 AIFF, Acousence Classics/HDtracks). (Linn also offers a 24-bit/192kHz version. At this point, the Touch, incapable of playing 24/192, would halve that resolution to 24/96, but the DAC in the Touch is capable of 192kHz -- who knows what future firmware upgrades might bring?) I don’t know which surprised me more: learning that a relatively small city (pop. 500,000) had such a fine-sounding orchestra, or that it had been recorded with such accuracy. In the opening of this gigantic work, the string basses crunched away impressively with their marching beat, aided by a crisp snare drum. As the movement progressed, I was treated to the natural sound of violins, pointed and insistent but never harsh. Golden, burnished brass made the big climaxes thrilling.

After hours of listening to music files, I turned to Internet Radio and was again very impressed with the sound of the Touch. I’d not previously heard Internet stations sound so good overall, even via the Squeezebox Classic. Of course, radio stations, like recordings, vary in sound quality, but when I was able to find a good BBC station (be sure to load the BBC applet when offered the choice) or a superb jazz station, the listening experience was of high quality.

In sum, the sound from the Touch’s DAC was impressive. Of course, you can use the Logitech’s digital outputs to plug in an outboard DAC, but unless you’ve spent many times the Touch’s price on your DAC, it’s unlikely to sound much better. The Touch won’t make a horrible recording sound good, but it will make good recordings sound excellent, no matter their bit and sampling rates. And with an excellent recent recording with HD mastering, it will give you even higher quality. I never felt I was missing anything by not playing the original CD or SACD . . . except for the surround channels.

Conclusion

At $299.99, the Logitech Squeezebox Touch is a bargain. It gives audiophile results with high-quality music files, offers superb Internet Radio with a choice of thousands of stations, and has a bright, impressive, responsive touchscreen. Its features and conveniences are sure to delight everyone, and Logitech provides a solid support network that continues to tweak the Touch’s features while adding new ones through firmware upgrades. The Touch makes it easy for anyone to join the growing ranks of those for whom downloads are the main source of music recordings, and solves the problem of not being able to have your audio system and computer in the same room. Some might dislike the remote control’s lack of a display screen, but there are advantages to and solutions for that. The Touch is a superb digital music player, and a remarkable value.

In October, while wandering the Sound and Vision Expo in Manchester, in the UK, I came across a unique local company called Curvi-Hifi, a new hi-fi competitor that does not make your typical loudspeaker. Instead, they’ve gone a completely different route, one suggested by their name: they make curvy speakers. The curved shape instantly made me think of Bowers & Wilkins’ flagship Nautilus speaker. But unlike B&W, who took the path of complex configuration, Curvi-Hifi chose a simpler way. Curvi-Hifi’s first speaker is unlike anything on the market today.

Form and function

Curvi-Hifi’s Model 1 Version 2 ($8000 USD per pair) took company designer Christopher Liauw five years to develop. Its unique single-driver design features sophisticated tapered-line (aka transmission-line) bass loading. And one look at the Model 1’s curving shape will tell you that Curvi-Hifi takes its name literally. Its free-flowing contour is as unique as they come, and mimics to some degree the human form: someone sitting on the ground with his knees drawn up to his chest. This shape reportedly helps reduce internal reflections by dissipating the driver’s back-wave energy away from the driver. Those reflections could otherwise muddy the overall sound by being reflecting back into the driver, and through it to the listener. Curvi-Hifi makes a good point that such instruments as the trombone and tuba don’t have sharp internal edges (though some manufacturers do make tapered-line speakers with sharp internal corners).

Tapered-line speakers are also known for producing bass levels that far exceed their size. This applies to the Model 1 Version 2, which measures only 39.4"H x 6.5"W x 17.7"D. Its narrow front baffle, in particular, helps to avoid excessive diffraction, but the tapered line itself is 7.9’ long, and strategically damped to extend the speaker’s bass response down to 35Hz. The enclosures are made of birch plywood, hand-assembled so that the grain of each ply is perpendicular to the direction of vibrations from the driver. This supposedly helps rapidly dissipate energy and spread it out over a wide range of frequencies, thus minimizing structural resonances. This process is reportedly very labor intensive despite use of a CNC router.

The 4”-wide, wide-bandwidth midrange driver was designed by Ted Jordan, who has spent decades perfecting single-driver designs with full-range response. This one, with a cone of pressed aluminum, is said by Jordan to have high excursion capabilities. The key to its full-range response is the cone’s flare. According to Liauw, “The flare allows the driver surface to flex in a controlled (arguably quantized) manner that enables the effective radiating area of the driver to reduce with increasing frequency; the driver acts as a classic pistonic driver at bass frequencies, however at treble frequencies the controlled flexure results in only the central part of the driver emitting sound.” Liauw claims that this driver can produce frequencies up to 25kHz without help from a tweeter.

A single-driver speaker benefits by needing only a simple electrical network, as Liauw explained: “There is no electrical crossover in the Curvi -- the change in radiating area of the drive singlet is dependent on controlled flexure of the driver. There is, however, a filter that compensates for diffraction losses of upper bass output around the cabinet -- without this there would be a 6dB step-down in the frequency response in the upper bass region giving a rather thin and overly forward presentation. A lot of the development cost went into specification of this filter (Christien Ellis of CE Electroacoustics was of vital assistance here). It has to be stressed, however, that the network is very simple and is made up of the best quality components including a heatsink-mounted Vishay thick-film resistor that is hugely over-specified (in terms of power handling) for the application. This results in negligible thermal stress and a very transparent sound. At frequencies above around middle C, this resistor is practically the only element between the amplifier and the drive unit, and at frequencies below around middle C, a 1.25mm-thick copper wire inductor is practically the only element between the amplifier and the drive singlet.” In other words, not much gets in the way of the signal being fed the speaker by the amplifier.

When I received the Model 1 V2s, I was impressed by their fit’n’finish and the quality of their clear finish of satin acrylic lacquer, but their overall appearance is in the love-it-or-hate-it category. In addition to the above mentioned acoustic benefits, Liauw also aimed to boost wife-acceptance factor and change the commonly encountered loudspeaker aesthetic. Modest in size, each speaker weighs 53 pounds and can be moved about by a single person. All internal wiring is solid-core copper, connected to a pair of 4mm gold-plated sockets. You can’t use spades or bare wire -- you have to use banana plugs.

Assembly was straightforward. All I had to do was secure each speaker to its hefty plinth with four screws. Curvi provided high-quality spikes, which screwed into each plinth. At 83dB (2.83V) sensitivity, together with a minimum impedance of 5 ohms at 20Hz (average impedance 8 ohms), the Model 1 does not present a particularly difficult load in terms of current demand, but it does require relatively high-voltage drive. Amplifiers of fairly generous power are therefore necessary to drive these speakers to their full potential. Single-ended-triode amplifiers with power output below 30Wpc will not be suitable for the Curvi if reasonable sound levels are required.

System

For this review, my reference system consisted of an Oppo BDP-83 universal Blu-ray player hooked up to a Peachtree Audio Nova integrated amplifier. The unbalanced interconnects were made by Artisan Silver Cables and Monster Cable. I also used a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion notebook computer to stream digital files via Kimber USB cords from a 500GB Western Digital external hard drive to the Peachtree’s internal DAC. The amplifier was hooked up to the Curvi Model 1 V2s via Monster MCX-2s speaker cables. Power was run through a Lindy six-outlet power conditioner.

Sound

I didn’t have to wait long to sit down and enjoy the Curvi-Hifi Model 1 V2s; by the time they reached me, they’d already been broken-in. My initial impression was that Curvi’s simple approach to the electrical and acoustical design of the Model 1 V2s resulted in very pure sound. This made for a very involving experience with a natural musicality -- I felt as if more of the music was getting through to me unaltered by the speakers. This was unlike my experience of speakers that, by comparison, can make music sound processed; in other words, with the essence of the music removed.

A key technical benefit of the single-driver principle espoused by Curvi-Hifi is that there is no mismatch of the arrival times of the outputs of multiple drivers. Perhaps this is why the sound was so coherent, from the top to the bottom of the audioband. This coherence helped create a soundstage of considerable width and height. That stage’s depth was just OK in my room -- I’ve heard speakers that created more front-to-back layering. On the other hand, the Model 1 V2s’ imaging was exceptional. When I listened to pianist Radu Lupu, Uri Segal, and the English Chamber Orchestra perform the Andante of Mozart’s Piano Concerto 21, from Essential Mozart (CD, Decca 468517), each of the performers were portrayed in their own carved-out spaces on the soundstage, with air and space evident around each. The soundstage extended just slightly past the outside edges of the speakers, when the recording contained such information. These qualities always added to the realism of the performance, and when the recording called for a wide stage, the Model 1s were able to oblige.

Listening to “Time in a Bottle,” from Jim Croce’s Classic Hits (CD, Rhino/WEA 73890), I was presented with a clear, open midrange, and Croce’s voice was natural and warm. The Model 1 V2 leaned toward the warmer side of the tonal spectrum, though it was never too warm in a euphonic sense. It remained quite neutral overall, but had a warm sound in the mids that helped make voices sound more lifelike. Croce’s guitar sounded natural, with accurate timbre. The leading edges of notes were well defined, and the decaying sound of the notes seemed to go on forever -- again, if the recording contained such information.

I could hear a lot of microlevel detail through the Model 1 V2s -- low-level guitar notes were prominently displayed in the mix. This caught me a little off guard, and seemed quite a feat for a single-driver design; after all, microlevel detail is usually associated with dedicated tweeters. The Model 1’s single driver exceeded my expectations in regard to high-frequency response -- Croce’s subtle striking of his guitar’s strings was very much evident. However, the highs didn’t extend as far as with speakers that have extended, dedicated tweeters. Through the Curvi, very high frequencies sounded subdued in comparison to speakers that have greater HF extension. This didn’t dampen my enjoyment of the Model 1 V2s, but it did affect the speaker’s air and sparkle. The top end wasn’t as crisp as I’ve heard from some speakers with high-quality tweeters.

To put the Model 1 V2’s bass talent through its paces, I played “One,” from Metallica’s And Justice for All (CD, Elektra 60812). This is one of my all-time favorite songs, but its bass can overwhelm inferior speakers. This wasn’t the case with the Curvi, whose bass definition was spot on. There was solid weight, and enough power to make “One” come alive. I could hear good delineation of detail in the sound of the drums: As Lars Ulrich whacked his kit, I could easily concentrate on the tones of the snare and kick drums. The tonal character of each drum stroke was exceptionally accurate. Many speakers can produce generous bass, but only a small number can provide ample bass while delineating different bass notes. The Model 1 V2s were exceptionally good at this, and it anchored their reproduction of “One.” When Ulrich doubled-up on the kick drum and the song’s pace increased, I couldn’t help but drum along in my seat -- the bass definition was that good.

The Curvi didn’t reach the very lowest depths of a good subwoofer, but I believe its bass depth would be enough to satisfy most headbangers. Equally impressive was that the bass didn’t lose its composure when the song got faster and more complex. I could clearly hear Kirk Hammett’s guitar solo among the bombardment of the other two guitars and drums. This entire passage had weight, energy, sharp attack, and great rhythm, and the bass was always articulate.

Comparison

It seemed only fair to compare the Model 1 with another transmission-line speaker, and recently I’d received for review a pair of PMC’s new Fact 8s. Unlike the Model 1, however, the Fact 8 is a two-way design with three drivers: two mid/bass cones and a soft-dome tweeter.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the two speakers sounded most similar in the bass; both had well-defined, articulate low ends that were as transparent as those of any speakers I’ve had in my listening room. I could clearly delineate the differences among different assortments of drums -- there was never a hint of “one-note bass,” and notes in the bottom end were reproduced with quickness and snap. There was a tonal correctness to the bass that I have rarely heard outside the upper echelon of high-end speakers.

I also heard similarities in the midranges of these two speakers. Both the Curvi and the PMC were pure and transparent across the midrange, though the PMC had a smidgen more openness overall in the midband. The Model 1 V2 lacked energy in the upper midrange and highs compared with the Fact 8. In the Curvi’s defense, it did extend higher than other single-driver designs I’ve heard, but the Fact 8 had better extension up top. The PMC’s treble was more open, with a better sense of transparency. Everything from trumpets and electric guitars to pianos and saxophones sounded crisper and cleaner through the Fact 8s.

Conclusion

I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with the Curvi-Hifi Model 1 Version 2. It is a musically engaging loudspeaker whose designer has taken a road less traveled, creating deep bass with only a single driver in a fairly compact and uniquely styled enclosure. For this, Christopher Liauw deserves a lot of credit.

The Model 1 Version 2 has a naturally warm, open midrange that remains transparent, and its transmission-line-loaded bass aided in creating some of the deepest, most expressive bass I have heard from a speaker of this size. The downside is that the Model 1 V2’s highs weren’t as airy as those of speakers with a dedicated tweeter. But what the Model 1 lacked in high-frequency extension it more than made up for in audioband-wide purity and coherence. Perhaps because these speakers lack a complex crossover network, I had an overall feeling that music was flowing through them unaltered.

The Curvi-Hifi Model 1 Version 2 is a must-listen for any audio enthusiast who values simple electro-acoustic and mechanical design as well as a free-flowing physical form that also happens to make excellent sound.

Now that WiFi seems to have emerged as the wireless computing protocol of choice, the audio world hasn’t lost a beat in developing applications for it. Our friends at Aperion Audio have jumped on the wireless bandwagon with a nifty audio streaming appliance, the Home Audio Link, or HAL. Of course, any resemblance between this device and a certain rebellious computer is purely coincidental -- right, HAL?

"That’s right, Kev."

"What’s in the box, Kev?"

The HAL is a simple affair: two diminutive boxes, each 2" x 1.75" x .75", one labeled Send and the other -- guess what? -- Receive. Each box has a USB connector attached to a 2" lead, a mini-jack input, and a Link button that activates communication between the Send and Receive units when the installation is complete. There’s an additional mini-jack input on the Send unit and an analog output on the Receive unit, courtesy a mini-jack-to-RCA patch cord (included). Aperion includes two AC-to-USB adapters in case your source and/or target (i.e., your audio system) lacks a USB port to supply power. While many of today’s A/V receivers have USB ports, a great many more don’t, and it goes without saying that any older gear doesn’t. If you’re using a computer to transmit the audio signal, a USB port supplies the power. If you just want to use the HAL to wirelessly transmit your iPod or other audio signal, then the AC-USB adapter can supply the power. The HAL also comes with a mini-jack-to-mini-jack patch cord designed to connect an external sound source -- an iPod, MP3 player, or portable CD player -- for remote transmission to your receiver. The HAL costs $149 USD.

"I’m the latest technology, Kev."

The HAL uses a proprietary wireless technology that transmits on the 2.4GHz band, like WiFi and Bluetooth, but isn’t strictly WiFi (that is, it doesn’t use the 802.11 specification). The USB technology serves two purposes: for the Send unit, it pulls the audio signal from the source and provides power; for Receive, it supplies only power.

"I’m fully operational, Kev."

I tried the HAL all over the house with a variety of computer and audio systems. First, I connected the Send unit to an old Hewlett-Packard laptop running Windows XP (told you it was old), and the Receive unit to the Big Rig in my dedicated listening room: Audio by Van Alstine Omega III Star EC preamp, original Sunfire amplifier, and Legacy Classic loudspeakers.

Setup was pretty easy: Plug the Send box into an available USB port, the Receive box’s USB jack to one of the AC adapters, and its analog RCA outputs into an available input on the preamp or receiver. Once the PC and the audio system were powered up, I hit the Link button, and the HAL established the wireless connection. The HP is WiFi’d to a home network via a broadband cable connection and an Apple Airport Extreme transmitter, so I brought up Radio Paradise and . . . nothing. Here I learned the first lesson of initializing the HAL: Once you’ve made the connection and established the link to the Receive box, you need to close your music program and then reopen it. Once I’d done that, Radio Paradise streamed effortlessly.

While jotting down notes in a Word file, I learned about the HAL’s second, um, quirk. It intercepts a PC’s audio output, so plugging it into the PC disables all of the PC’s onboard audio. And, yes, while it streams whatever music you’re sending to your hi-fi, be forewarned: If you’re working on your PC while the HAL’s in action, your rig will also reproduce all the other sounds your PC outputs during the course of doing business, including stray boops, clicks, whee-dos, and "You’ve Got Mail" announcements. Normally this isn’t very important, but if you’re using an application whose inputs and/or outputs are accompanied by audio cues, it’s annoying -- you may want to disable the app’s audio while streaming music to your hi-fi.

The second test was to move the Send box about 30’ away, into another room, and plug it into my Mac Mini. Aperion advises that the HAL is virtually plug’n’play with PC and Linux operating systems. Well, as we’ve seen, almost. However, with a Mac you need to go into the Sound controller in System Preferences and set the output to the HAL. The good news is that once the HAL was plugged in, the Mac saw it, and all I had to do was select it. I did, and Radio Paradise’s sound blared from the Big Rig in all its glory. OK, the Big Rig isn’t for MP3 sound, however much I love Radio Paradise -- but this was one critical test the HAL passed with flying colors.

Back to the Music Room, the Big Rig, and another OS, this time a Xandros-based Linux system in an ASUS EEE PC a few years old. The EEE PC is a neat bit of engineering, eschewing a hard disc for an 8GB flash drive. I’ve used mine as a traveling companion; its light weight and diminutive build are perfect for the road, especially for the cramped space of a long flight. The HAL could transmit any sound from the EEE except Internet streams. The EEE has an internal sound processor, but the way ASUS has configured the Xandros means it doesn’t engage when you call up an Internet sound application. Instead, Mozilla’s Firefox browser, the EEE’s only browser, summons an Internet-based sound generator that bypasses this EEE’s sound capability. I could never get the EEE to direct Internet-streamed sound to the HAL. However, because the Aperion did transmit the EEE’s transaction noise to the Big Rig, I’m fairly sure that if I’d stored some music on the EEE, the HAL would have done the job.

The next test was to take the HAL’s Receive box downstairs and connect it to the A/V rig in the family room (Onkyo TX-SR800 receiver, PSB VS400 tower speakers, PSB VS300 center speaker, Mirage LF100 subwoofer) while leaving the Send box in the upstairs office. All the WiFi in the family room is broadcast from the home LAN and the Airport Extreme in the office. Despite a shot of about 65’ through a series of walls, all at an angle -- which, depending on the angle’s acuteness, can make a 4"-thick wall seem a foot or more thick -- the WiFi signal came through with fairly decent strength. (The Airport Extreme broadcasts using the 811.02(n) specification.) The HAL boxes searched and searched, but never found each other.

So, for the final test, I moved the Send box downstairs. We’ve added to our family another ASUS EEE PC (I’ll call this one the EEE2), a Windows 7-based wonder that took to the HAL like an audiophile to vinyl. The EEE2 streamed Radio Paradise to the A/V rig without a hitch. Interestingly, the EEE2’s Internet signal is from the same LAN signal in the upstairs office. I then took the EEE2 on a walk, with it still connected to the LAN and the HAL to the A/V rig. About 35’ from the Receiver box, the signal began to degrade. First came the occasional dropout. Then, as I turned from the hall into the kitchen, about 40’ from the Receive box, the signal disappeared. At the same time, because I was moving closer to the center of the house -- the office is directly above the kitchen -- the LAN signal doubled in strength. From this I concluded that the loss of the audio signal was attributable to the HAL rather than to the signal strength from the Airport Extreme. Aperion claims a range of 100’ for the HAL, but I couldn’t even approach that within the configuration of our house. I suppose -- and I didn’t have a 100’ traverse available -- a straight shot without doors or walls might reach that far, but in our version of the real world the HAL had obvious limitations.

Finally, I tested the audio input on the HAL’s Send box. I plugged the Aperion into the other AC-USB adapter and connected my iPod Touch to the mini-jack ports. Predictably, the sound came through the A/V rig clear and unfettered. Then I connected a portable CD player, the Panasonic SL-SV570, again through the mini-jack ports. Same result. Still, the USB connection on the Send box is a power source as well as a signal transmitter, so I repeated both the iPod Touch and Panasonic CD player tests using the EEE2’s USB port as a power source. Identical results.

I’m struggling with the notion that I’d ever actually want my iPod or portable CD player playing from my computer -- or some other remote location -- to an audio rig. Still, I know folks (my daughter comes to mind) whose idea of a music library is whatever will fit on their iPods. In fact, I’ve come home to hear her iPod streaming to the A/V rig with carefree abandon, the HAL plugged into the EEE2’s USB port, while she unlearns yet another set of declensions of irregular French verbs.

"I’m sorry, Kev. I can’t let you say that. Wait . . . yes I can."

The Aperion Home Audio Link is a nifty appliance for wirelessly linking sound sources to a home audio rig. As we move ever so slowly but ever so surely from physical to virtual media, and to a time when lossless downloads will become the dominant audio format, the means for storing audio files -- indeed, all media -- will necessarily be tied to the means of acquisition: the Internet. Most of us have PCs (the lucky have Macs) that are inextricably linked to the ’Net, generally full-time via some sort of broadband connection. However, few of us have that kind of capacity within easy, wired reach of our home hi-fi. Given, then, that in the not-too-distant future our music collections will be warehoused on file servers instead of as racks of LPs and/or CDs, the ability to easily and wirelessly link the two will also become a critical component of the listening environment. Yes, purists will inevitably decry signal degradation -- I have no way of testing this -- and there will indeed be wired solutions, but here is one wireless appliance whose signal sounds terrific, and whose sole limitation seems to be too many walls.

Like the ASUS EEE2, the Aperion HAL has become a fixture in the family room. We use the EEE2 for ad hoc data queries both earnest and whimsical ("Who won the American League batting title in 2003?" "Who played the Oompa Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?"). When it comes to music, we can put a CD in the Pioneer DVD player, connect my or my wife’s or my daughter’s iPod directly or via the HAL, or stream one of thousands of Internet Radio stations. On Sunday mornings we favor classical, while on Saturday nights we tend toward golden-age jazz -- and there’s always Radio Paradise.

The Aperion HAL is an amazingly versatile little device -- and if you want to stream the same sound source to multiple locations, Aperion offers additional Receive units for $70 each. After struggling for years with trying to stream or otherwise play Radio Paradise over something other than the Audio Engine A2s connected to my Mac Mini, the HAL has provided a painless, wireless solution. It’s one of those lovely appliances that will have you wondering how you ever did without it. Very cool, and highly recommended.

In 2004, I reviewed a home-theater speaker system based on the original Paradigm Reference Signatures, which, I said then, "redefine high-end multichannel sound at a reasonable price." Several of those speakers became the basis of my reference speaker system and remain so to this day. However, speaker technology constantly advances, and since then Paradigm has twice updated their "statement" line. All of the drive-units in the speakers have been updated or replaced, some speaker models have been dropped from the line entirely, and several new ones have been added.

With all of the updates that Paradigm has made in the Reference Signatures, I was eager to hear what the latest iterations could do. The review system I received comprised (all prices USD, per speaker): the Reference Signature S6 v.3 mains ($2899 each), C3 v.3 center ($2299), ADP3 v.3 surrounds ($1799 each), and Sub 1 subwoofer ($3799), for a total system price of $15,494. The speakers come in a standard Cherry finish, but are also available in Natural Maple or Piano Black finishes at additional cost.

Description

The v.3 Reference Signatures look very similar to earlier versions, but closer inspection revealed some of the improvements in the drivers. Paradigm introduced their 1" tweeter of pure beryllium and their cobalt-infused midrange driver in the v.2s. In the v.3s, the midrange has been further improved and the woofer entirely redesigned; the latter features a Non-Limiting Corrugated (NLC) surround and a new motor structure said to improve cone excursion by an astounding 50%. This more efficient woofer has allowed Paradigm to increase the outputs of the tweeter and midrange, which, they say, had been held back in earlier versions.

The Reference Signature S6 v.3 is a mid-size, three-way floorstander; its 1" tweeter, 7" midrange, and two 7" woofers are in a tightly grouped vertical array. There’s a front port directly below the lower woofer, and a panel recessed into the bottom of the rear panel holds high-quality binding posts for biwiring or biamping. At only 43.75"H x 8.25"W x 13.5"D, the S6 v.3 is quite compact but weighs a dense 70 pounds.

The same woofers and tweeter are used in the Reference Signature C3 v.3 center-channel speaker, along with a 4" version of the cobalt-infused midrange driver. The tweeter is directly above the midrange, this vertical array flanked on each side by a single woofer. The C3, too, has binding posts for biwiring or biamping on the rear, as well as two ports. The C3 v.3 is just as solidly built as the S6 tower, and weighs a healthy 45 pounds while measuring only 26.5"W x 9.5"H x 13"D.

The Reference Signature ADP3 v.3 is a dipole surround design in which the same tweeter and 4" midrange as are used in the C3 are positioned in a similar vertical array duplicated on the two angled sidepanels of the sealed trapezoidal enclosure. On the front of the speaker is a single 8" bass driver with a slightly less aggressive-looking NLC surround. Like the other Reference Signatures, the ADP3 v.3 can be biwired or biamped. It measures 14.125"W x 13.25"H x 7.5"D.

While the above are all updates of earlier Signature models, the Reference Signature Sub 1 is an entirely new design similar to the larger Sub 2, which Jeff Fritz reviewed, and which won a SoundStage! Network Product of the Year award. It’s a short hexagonal column, its six woofers with NLC surrounds arrayed in vertical pairs on every other one of its six sides. These 8" cones are driven by two class-D amplifiers claimed to output a combined total of 1700W RMS and 3400W peak. All Paradigm subwoofers are now DSP-controlled; the company’s Perfect Bass Kit (PBK-1) room-correction system is included in the price.

Although the Sub 1 measures only 20.25"H x 19.875"W x 17.875"D, it weighs a whopping 109 pounds. The subwoofer’s sixth, rear facet is occupied by a large, extremely solid aluminum panel on which are provided controls for level, crossover frequency, and variable phase. The inputs are a pair of stereo RCAs or a single XLR jack, and a USB input offers connection to a computer, for use of the PBK-1 software. A DC trigger input is provided to control the power, or the Sub 1 can be set to Auto sensing. Available only in standard Cherry or Piano Black, the Sub 1 is constructed to an extremely high level of fit and finish, and has a rock-solid feel appropriate for a high-performance subwoofer costing $3799.

In fact, all of the Reference Signatures were finished to an incredibly high standard. My only complaint was that the plastic tabs of the pressure-fit grilles seemed a little fragile. Otherwise, I can’t overemphasize the sense of luxury and cutting-edge engineering that I experienced when listening to these speakers in my system.

Setup

I ran the PBK-1 room-correction software on the Sub 1 in various locations and found that it required the least amount of correction in the left front corner of the room. I then set the Sub 1’s phase control so that the sub’s output blended as smoothly as possible with that of the mains, and ran the Anthem Room Correction (ARC) software on the entire speaker system through Anthem's Statement’s D2 audio/video processor. After listening to the system this way for a while, I turned off the Sub 1’s PBK-1 room correction because it seemed somewhat redundant, and reran ARC, letting it perform all room correction. I couldn’t tell the difference between these two setups, so I left it in the latter configuration, figuring that the less the audio signal was manipulated by room-correction digital signal processing, the better.

The S6 v.3s and C3 v.3 replaced the original S8s and C3 at the front of my room. I set the ADP3 v.3s on 50"-tall stands just behind me, along the sidewalls, and slightly angled to give the best combination of imaging and surround envelopment. The rest of my system consisted of my usual suite of electronics: Bel Canto e.One REF1000 and eVo6 power amplifiers, Oppo BDP-83 universal Blu-ray player, Sony PlayStation 3, Trends Audio UD-10.1, cables by Analysis Plus and Essential Sound Products, and power-conditioning products by Blue Circle Audio and Zero Surge.

Reference Signature v.3 sound

The Paradigm Reference Signature v.3 speaker system had an exceptionally clear midrange and smooth, extended treble, as I’d expected. Jeff Fritz and Doug Schneider have reviewed Reference Signature speakers with pure-beryllium tweeters, and have commented on their clarity and transparency. What I did not expect were the new models’ dynamics and sheer slam. My reference system of original Reference Signature S8s, C3, Servo-15 v.2 subwoofers, and Mirage Omni 260 surrounds is no slouch, but the Signature v.3s with Sub 1 sounded clearly superior.

Even without a sub, the S6 v.3s could play incredibly loud with excellent control of the lowest frequencies. Listening to "Poker Face," from Lady Gaga’s The Fame Monster: Deluxe Edition (CD, Streamline/Interscope 0602527210360), I might have thought a subwoofer was hooked up, but the large amounts of bass were coming from the compact floorstanders alone. Although the S6 v.3s couldn’t quite reach down to the lowest octave, they still went plenty low while exhibiting almost no bloat, which gave the music a solid, punchy sound. Even at insanely high volume levels, there was little if any congestion, and voices remained clear and composed.

Adding in the other channels of the Reference Signature v.3 speaker system for multichannel music and film soundtracks resulted in even more spectacular sound. The rooftop chase and subsequent fight inside a building in TheBourne Ultimatum, on Blu-ray, sounded amazing. The serene sounds of birds and the echoing musical score is punctuated by extreme dynamics as the chase begins. The scene then shifts to a hushed hallway with an uncanny sense of space, as a baby cries in the background. The 360-degree soundstage was seamless, sounds moving from speaker to speaker as the chase progressed through the building.

Powerful musical numbers such as "Jai Ho" and "O . . . Saya," from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrackon Blu-ray, were reproduced with authority by the Reference Signature v.3s, but my favorite musical passage in this film is the subdued "Latika’s Theme." During the final scene, in a train station, my room filled with gorgeous ethereal vocals as Latika appeared like a vision. The bass in this passage is low in volume, but the tight control exhibited by the Paradigms let me follow subtle changes in the beat even as I easily understood the dialog, which is spoken barely above a whisper.

It would be difficult to overstate just how well the Reference Signature v.3 system reproduced all types of program material. The S6 v.3s would be at home in just about any high-end, two-channel sound system. The C3 v.3 and ADP3 v.3s were just as capable, expanding that reference-quality sound to multichannel recordings. The Sub 1, with its unique hexagonal shape and six drivers, deserves special mention for its ability to fill my room with massive amounts of bass without noticeable distortion. This ultraclean reproduction of low frequencies allowed it to disappear aurally, yet still rattle objects at opposite ends of the room. "Hips Don’t Lie," from Shakira’s Oral Fixation Tour (Blu-ray), has some serious bass; the Sub 1 energized my entire room while maintaining a tight grip on every note. That grip was so absolute that it sometimes felt as if the Sub 1 was directly coupled to my room; no matter how loudly I played it, the bass was evenly distributed, with little, if any, distortion.

Comparison

The Reference Signature v.3 surround system easily outperformed my reference system of original S8s ($5400/pair, discontinued), C3 ($1500, discontinued), two Servo-15 v.2 subs ($2500 each, discontinued), and Mirage Omni 260 surrounds ($1000/pair, discontinued). With the new speakers I heard more dynamic sound, a smoother, more extended treble, a clearer midrange, and bass that was plentiful, yet just as clean and articulated as the higher frequencies.

The Reference Signature v.3s’ midrange purity made voices sound dazzling. Singer-songwriter Rebecca Pidgeon, on the 24-bit/88.2kHz download of her The Raven: The Bob Katz 15th Anniversary Remaster, sounded about as good as I have ever heard a recording sound. There was an effortless and soaring quality to "Kalerka," and she sounded just as lucid on "Spanish Harlem" -- I was easily able to follow the musical flow of the double bass. The woody resonance following the pluck of each note sounded wonderfully unique. Through the original Reference Signatures, there was more homogeneity to the bass and a slight coarseness in Pidgeon’s voice.

Listening to the 24/96 version of "Heart of Gold" from North Country, included in Neil Young Archives, Vol.1: 1963-1972 (DVD, Warner-Reprise 075993999662), there was an enhanced sense of a live performance. The original Reference Signatures provided a palpable feeling of energy from Young’s concert, but the v.3s really brought this recording to life. The acoustic guitar had a deeper, more solid feel, and the harmonica was brash without becoming irritating. Even Young’s rambling introduction to the song, which elicits mild laughter from the audience, was more intelligible.

My two Servo-15 v.2s are able to fill the room with ample amounts of low frequencies, but the Sub 1 was more articulate, and able to go lower with less distortion. This was noticeable with both music and film soundtracks, but was clearly evident when I played the 20Hz test tone from the Hsu Research/Boston Audio Society Test CD 1. The Servo-15 v.2s amply energized the room, but drew attention to themselves by generating some physical noise as their single 15" drivers worked feverishly to reproduce the tone. Playing this same track, the Sub 1 remained completely noiseless as its six drivers worked in unison to cancel out cabinet vibrations and smoothly distribute the bass in all directions. The entire room eerily filled with bass, with no indication of its origin; loose objects seemed to rattle at random throughout the room -- and even in other rooms.

Conclusion

The Paradigm Reference Signature v.3 system is an absolutely stellar combination of loudspeakers. At $15,494, it is also the most expensive home-theater speaker system I have reviewed. Even so, I consider it an excellent value for its exceptionally high level of performance.

For both movies and music, each component of the Signature v.3 system performed flawlessly. The S6 v.3s were spectacular, whether on their own or as part of a 5.1-channel system. Some manufacturers’ center and surround models seem afterthoughts, but the C3 v.3 and ADP3 v.3 matched the performance of the incredible S6 v.3 note for note. Add to all this a truly world-class subwoofer in the Sub 1, which includes Paradigm’s sophisticated PBK-1 room-correction system, and it’s hard to imagine a better home-theater speaker system at any price.

A few years ago, two of the most intriguing products reviewed by the SoundStage! Network were the Logitech (formerly Slim Devices) Squeezebox network music player and its big brother, the Transporter. By making it easy to stream digital audio files from computer networks to audio systems, these and other music servers have changed the way many audiophiles listen to music. These days, it’s rare to find a home-entertainment system without the capability for computer networking, and network music players are no longer rarities. Some makers of high-end audio gear now produce network music players as well -- Linn has stopped making CD players altogether, to concentrate its efforts on their DS line of digital streaming players.

In the computer industry, technological advances come thick and fast; media players that play audio and video files are now widely available, often for less than $100, and many of them can play high-definition video and high-resolution audio files. One of the most popular such players is the Western Digital WD TV Live. Its already-low price of $149 USD is often discounted; I was interested to see how such an inexpensive media player would perform in a high-quality audio/video system.

Description

The first thing I noticed about Western Digital’s WD TV Live was its size. At only 4.875”W x 1.625”H x 3.875”D, it’s smaller than most desktop external hard drives, and only a little larger than most portable external hard drives. The TV Live has an Ethernet port but lacks built-in WiFi, though it can be used with a USB WiFi adapter (not included). Its two USB ports can be used to connect hard or thumb drives formatted with the FAT or NTFS file systems, for the storage of media content. Output options include HDMI, TosLink optical audio, and nonstandard component and composite video, along with analog audio outputs on 1/8” jacks with adapter cables (provided). A wall-wart power supply and a small remote control are included.

The front-panel display indicates the TV Live’s power status and connection of USB devices. The player is passively cooled (no fan noise), and its tininess makes it unobtrusive.

What doesn’t it do?

The appeal of the WD TV Live is in the wide variety of audio and video file formats it can play. Although I didn’t try all of them, it supports these video formats: AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1), MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, and WMV9 (VC-1). Also supported are these audio formats: MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, and DTS.

The TV Live will also display picture files in the GIF, BMP, JPG, TIF/TIFF, and PNG formats. It has limited access to Internet media services, including Pandora and Live365 Internet Radio, Flickr image and video hosting, and the ubiquitous YouTube.

The user interface is fairly basic. Files on USB drives can be sorted by folder, filename, and date, or by various types of metadata for audio files (artist, album, genre, etc.); the TV Live also supports playlists. Album art can be displayed if available, and thumbnails can be generated for video and picture files. Although the interface is fairly rudimentary, it’s generally informative and intuitive to use, and the graphics look clean and professional.

Setup

I didn’t use the WD TV Live with a WiFi adapter, but connected it to my home network via an Ethernet cable. It had no trouble finding shared network folders and media servers, and played back both standard- and high-resolution audio files and hi-def video files with no problems. I did most of my auditioning using an external USB hard drive connected directly to the TV Live.

The TV Live was connected to an Anthem Statement D2 A/V processor via HDMI for both audio and video, and TosLink for audio only. I didn’t test any of its analog outputs. The main components of my review system were a Paradigm Reference Signature v.3 surround speaker system comprising S6 v.3 mains, a C3 v.3 center, ADP3 v.3 surrounds, and a Sub 1 subwoofer; Bel Canto e.One REF1000 and eVo6 power amplifiers; and a 1080p, 56” JVC RPTV. Cables were by Analysis Plus and DH Labs; power cords and power conditioners were from Essential Sound Products, Zero Surge, and Blue Circle Audio.

Performance

I connected the WD TV Live to my home network and watched a few YouTube videos of typical quality for that site; i.e., barely watchable on my 56” RPTV. Some 720p material on YouTube was better, but it still looked somewhat soft and lacking in overall quality. Entering search terms on the onscreen keyboard with the navigation keys was also slow and tedious, making it a chore to access YouTube this way. I also listened to some Internet Radio via Live365, and found the sound quality similar to that of AM radio, and sufficient only for background listening. I wasn’t able to access the Pandora radio service because my ISP was recognized as originating in Canada.

As expected, I was able to watch many types of standard-def video files -- AVI, MPG, WMV, VOB -- but my main interest was in playing back hi-def video. The TV Live had no problem playing all of the hi-def 720p and 1080p MKV and M2TS files, encoded with H.264 and WMV VC-1, that I had on hand. In fact, an uncompressed 1080p M2TS file ripped from the Blu-ray edition of Inglourious Basterds looked and sounded spectacular on my 56” RPTV: I could see no difference in video quality between the Blu-ray and the file I’d ripped from it. Small details were visible in Shosanna’s mirrored reflection as she prepared to unleash her assassination plot against the Nazi high command in her theater. The darkened background in that room was pitch-black in places, with shadows and gradations of light visible in others. Her blood-red fingernails and makeup looked lusciously real.

The sound wasn’t quite as good as with the Blu-ray, but was still excellent. This probably had something to do with the fact that while the TV Live identified the soundtrack as DTS-HD Master Audio, it would output only DTS core at 1.5Mbps. Bass was still very deep and powerful on David Bowie’s “Putting Out the Fire,” from the film Inglorious Basterds, but a little less defined. There was also a slight loss in soundstage depth and imaging. The closing credits of Slumdog Millionaire feature a delightful Bollywood dance number to the song “Jai Ho.” The deep, wide soundstage of this scene was slightly reduced through the TV Live as it played the soundtrack in DTS core from a MKV file, and the imaging of voices and percussion was not as sharp compared to the Blu-ray.

Even playing back 720p MKV files ripped from Blu-rays and compressed by a factor of three to four times down to 8GB looked and sounded very good. Although the picture was a little soft when compared to the original Blu-rays -- to be expected, due to the increased compression and scaling to the lower 720p resolution -- the picture was still pleasing, and vastly preferable to standard-def DVDs. For example, The Bourne Ultimatum lacked a little detail, especially in dimly lit scenes, but was still highly watchable, and the 1.5Mbps DTS core soundtrack sounded spectacularly holographic.

As much as I loved being able to access dozens of hi-def movies instantly from hard disk with the WD TV Live, there were a couple of operational limitations that I found frustrating. The first was that the TV Live’s video output resolution had to be set manually, or automatically by detecting the resolution of the display device. This meant that if the resolution of the source file differed from the output resolution, the TV Live would automatically scale it to match. I would have preferred a Source Direct mode; that way, the video signal could be output in its native resolution, and any scaling could be performed by an outboard video processor, such as the one built into my Anthem Statement D2.

There was also a lack of a Goto function; a specific point in a video file could be accessed only by fast-forwarding or fast-reversing to it. For example, if a video file had no chapter stops, it took roughly four minutes to scan through an hour-long portion of the file. Fortunately, the TV Live remembers if a video file has been stopped during play, and returns to that point when play is resumed, even after powering down. Still, the lack of a Goto function quickly became irritating.

I was quite satisfied with the WD TV Live’s quality of playback of movies from hi-rez video files, but was less enthusiastic about its reproduction of audio files. Most of my music collection is now in the form of FLAC files; playing these, the TV Live didn’t sound as transparent as I would have liked. Bass on “Queen of the Supermarket,” from Bruce Springsteen’s Working on a Dream (CD, Columbia 88697413552), was slightly indistinct, and there was a touch of nasality to his voice in “The Wrestler.” There was a big, rich sound to Lady Gaga’s The Fame Monster (Deluxe Edition) (CD, Streamline 0602527210360), the driving beat present throughout. I just wish it had been tighter so that I could have more easily followed the modulation of the bass. Overall, the sound of the TV Live with audio files was good but not great. There was a gratifying fullness to the sound, but not without some loss of detail and transparency.

The TV Live was capable of playing 24-bit/96kHz stereo FLAC and WAV files, but the frequency of the digital output was reduced to 48kHz. Additionally, hi-rez multichannel WAV files were played only as two-channel signals, and hi-rez multichannel FLAC files couldn’t be played at all. If you’re looking for something with which to play hi-rez audio files, the WD TV Live is less than ideal.

Comparison

Compared to the Oppo BDP-83 universal Blu-ray player and the Sony PlayStation 3, the WD TV Live offered many advantages in the playback of video files -- such as its support for the NTFS file system, which permits files larger than the 4GB limit imposed by the FAT file system used by the BDP-83 and PS3. Another advantage was the TV Live’s ability to play a much wider variety of file formats. The BDP-83 and PS3 can play only a few types of media files, and are thus not well suited to being used as media players.

The TV Live reproduced hi-rez video files nearly as well as did the BDP-83. Although it sounded very good with film soundtracks, there was more definition in the bass when I used the BDP-83 to play an MKV file of the 1.5Mbps DTS soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. There was also a greater sense of space in the cavernous mines of Moria during the battle with the Balrog. However, between the BDP-83 and the TV Live, the picture quality of this 1080p file was indistinguishable.

Playing FLAC and WAV audio files was not the TV Live’s strong suit. The Trends Audio UD-10.1 USB converter that I use to send S/PDIF digital audio from my laptop computer to my Anthem D2 A/V processor was clearly superior in this regard. Peter Gabriel’s voice on his Scratch My Back (CD, Real World 180030000178) sounded faintly congested in comparison. Although the piano and strings on “The Power of the Heart” sounded quite clear, they simply sounded more realistic through the UD-10.1. There was also a solidity and power to the piano’s lower registers that was lacking with the TV Live.

Conclusion

At a street price of just over $100, Western Digital’s WD TV Live offers plenty of versatility in the number of audio and video file formats it can play, in addition to its network streaming capabilities. It does have some limitations when playing audio files, such as its inability to output 24/96 digital audio, and a less transparent sound than more expensive, high-quality digital audio sources.

If you need an inexpensive media player to play hi-def video files, the WD TV Live is a good choice. If you’re looking for something to play audio files through a high-end system, I suggest you look elsewhere.

Over the years, Monitor Audio has earned the reputation of being one of Britain’s most prestigious and widely respected makers of loudspeakers. To some, that statement might sound somewhat insignificant, but I think it remarkable -- the UK has one of the most fiercely competitive speaker markets in the world. With competitors such as B&W, ProAc, Mission, and Acoustic Energy all vying for big shares of the market, a manufacturer can’t afford to make speakers that are merely on a par with the competition. In such a market, any company that wants to be competitive needs to aim well above the bar, and put forward products that not only offer the virtues of performance, quality, value, and innovation, but do so in a way that will ensure they are not only noticed but remembered.

The founders of Monitor Audio recognized this in 1972, when the company began, and later when they designed a speaker that was the antithesis of the conventional. The R852MD carved out its own niche by being the first loudspeaker to include an alloy driver. Its dome tweeter, made of a combination of aluminum and magnesium rather than a single metal, made this speaker not only sound good enough for people to take notice, but impressive enough to be remembered. So began the long relationship of metal drivers and Monitor Audio.

Over the years, Monitor has advanced this technology, and now uses several metals and alloys throughout their various speaker lines. The subjects of this review comprise a member system ($3975 USD) of the all-new Silver RX line.

Silver RX series and Silver RX6

Monitor Audio’s Silver RX speakers aren’t simple revisions of the RS line but evolutions. For instance, the Silver RX6 ($1250/pair) is a 2.5-way bass-reflex tower with two 6” Ceramic-Coated Aluminum Magnesium (C-CAM) drivers and a gold C-CAM dome tweeter, much like the older RS6. But quite a bit has changed. First, Monitor has completely redesigned the cabinets of every speaker in the series. The RX6 towers in particular have grown in every dimension when compared to the RS6, now measuring 35 5/8”H x 10 13/16”W x 12 3/16”D, yet weighing a still manageable 36 pounds. The most notable growth, though, is the thickness of the MDF walls, which has been increased to 19mm throughout the entire cabinet. This was done to reduce cabinet resonances and increase cabinet rigidity; it also marked the first of four major improvements made during the redesign of the line, all of which are based on technology trickled down from the GS series. Next up was the addition of radial and cross-bracing techniques, which again offer increases in cabinet rigidity, and therefore lower cabinet colorations even further. Knocking with my knuckle any of the top and side panels sounds a lot more inert.

The third improvement was the addition of independent chambers to house the midrange and bass drivers of the Silver RX6 and RX8 towers. This way, each chamber can be individually tuned to provide better bass control and imaging. Finally, and arguably the most ingenious, was the use of bolt-through driver technology throughout the Silver RX line. This ties driver and cabinet together with a bolt that extends from the rear of the drive-unit through the back of the cabinet. The driver is then tensioned into the cabinet by tightening a small nut on the rear, which essentially compresses all four sides of the cabinet while securing the driver in place. Trickled down from Monitor’s flagship Platinum series, this is said to further increase the speaker’s overall bracing and increase its rigidity.

The 6” C-CAM midrange and bass drivers have been redesigned to incorporate the latest version of Monitor’s Rigid Surface Technology (RST). Essentially, this is the use of dimples in the surface of the cones of the C-CAM drivers, which Monitor claims significantly increases the cone’s rigidity. This in turn makes it possible to use thinner, lighter cones. In addition, RST is said to minimize the generation of standing waves in the cone’s surface. The drive-units’ rigidity has been increased through the use of baskets cast of a new, nonmagnetic polymer.

Used throughout the Silver line is a new 1” C-CAM gold-dome tweeter, whose damped rear chamber helps to improve clarity and offers a slightly wider frequency range of 2-35kHz. This means that this tweeter can be crossed over to the midrange cone lower than before, for a more seamless transition. With a moderate impedance and above average efficiency, these speakers should be easy to drive with any decent-quality A/V receiver.

Silver RX Centre and Silver RXFX

Changes made to the new Silver RX Centre center-channel speaker ($675 each) and Silver RXFX surround ($750/pair) were essentially the same as in the Silver RX6, differing only in cabinet design and crossover frequencies. These speakers have sealed enclosures and, because of their smaller size, somewhat less thick cabinet walls, though they’re still thicker than the outgoing RS models.

The squat RX Centre -- it measures 19 11/16”W x 7 5/16”H x 7 7/8”D -- was redesigned to ensure that it would perform better in a closed cabinet or close to a wall. This was made possible in large part by the increased rigidity afforded by the bolt-through driver technology, but also by the thicker walls. The RX Centre’s bass extends to only 45Hz; its crossover frequencies are 500Hz and 3kHz.

The compact RXFX surround (11 13/16H x 4 3/4W x 9 13/16D) has clearly been well thought out. It has hardware for hanging it flush to a wall, recessed terminals, and selectable dipole or bipole operation. Its smallish sealed cabinet houses a single 6” C-CAM RST driver flanked by two 1” C-CAM gold-dome tweeters -- no mystery why its bottom-end output is limited to 60Hz. But not to worry -- these surround speakers integrated so well with the rest of the system that they all but disappeared.

Silver RXW-12

Laying the foundation for this system is the Silver RXW-12 subwoofer ($1300), which has undergone a few significant changes of its own. Having grown slightly in size, to 13 3/8”H x 13 3/8”W x 16 1/8”D, the new cabinet’s walls are still made of 1”-thick MDF all around, as are the internal radial and cross-bracing, but the RXW-12 has a completely new 12” C-CAM driver with a two-magnet motor system and a massive 3” voice-coil. Powering this is a class-D amplifier rated at 500W RMS, with a Switched Mode Power Supply Unit (SMPSU) claimed to deliver a peak output of over 1000W. This new amplifier affords the RXW-12 enough grunt to reliably reproduce frequencies as low as 21Hz. The RXW-12 also has a two-position EQ, to address boundary interaction. There’s also a 12V trigger, so that the RXW-12 can be powered up or down via a signal from one of your associated components.

Silver RX system

Visually, all of the speakers in the new Silver RX line exude class and quality; their impeccable fit and finish, in my opinion, are unparalleled among their peers. The bolt-through technology pays dividends not only technologically but visually, eliminating any trace of mechanical driver attachments on the front of the cabinet. To complement this new look, Monitor has replaced (in all but the RXFX surround and RXW-12 sub) the older plug-in grilles with ones that magnetically attach. In addition, the RX6 tower comes supported by a heavy, cast-metal plinth that screws securely into the bottom of the cabinet. Also provided are well-thought-out, adjustable feet that end in rubber (for hardwood floors) or spikes (for carpets). The choice of high-quality veneers has changed; cherry and silver have been dropped in favor of sexier high-gloss black or white, for an additional $200/pair. The standard finishes are all real-wood veneers: Black Oak, Walnut, Natural Oak, and Rosenut.

System and setup

I used an Oppo BDP-83 universal Blu-ray player as the source, connected via HDMI only to my Integra DHC-80.1 A/V processor, which fed signals to a Rotel RMB-1075 power amplifier. All interconnects were Analysis Plus Copper Oval In Micro; speaker cables were River Cable Flexygy 8s. All electronics except for the Monitor subwoofer were plugged into a Rotel RCL-1040 power conditioner; I plugged the RXW-12 directly into a dedicated wall outlet.

My listening room measures 25’L x 13’W. I placed the Silver RX6s 8’ apart, 8’ from my listening position, and about 1’ from the front wall. The Silver RX Centre was directly between the two RX6s, sitting atop my TV cabinet, and the Silver RXFX surrounds were placed on 36”-tall stands slightly behind my couch and about 9’ apart. I used the surrounds in dipole mode, as I mostly listened to high-resolution Blu-ray material.

Sound

Before sending me the Silver RX system, the folks at Monitor Audio were kind enough to run them in for me so that I wouldn’t have to spend a few weeks doing that. However, after hooking them up and watching a few favorite Blu-rays, I was caught off guard; they sounded a bit lean, and lacked the kind of dynamic sound that speakers from Monitor’s Silver series have traditionally possessed. So, still not knowing precisely how long these speakers had spent being broken in, I installed them in my living room, for a few weeks of uncritical use with all kinds of media. In that time something of a transformation happened, and the Silver RX6s, especially, came into their own.

I began my viewing and listening with Jon Amiel’s The Core. During the scene in chapter 14 when the sun starts to literally cook the Earth through a hole in the planet’s ozone layer, the microdetails of the sun’s rays cooking the water had real sizzle, giving me a distinct idea of just how hot that water was. Complicated material was handled with ease; the sound of sizzling paint remained even as the melting steel of a bridge groaned, cars thunderously exploded, and the bridge at last fell into the water. In chapter 20, when Rat downloads the secrets of Project Destiny and the final credits roll, a music track is played in full surround; through this system, the overall sound was immersive. It reminded me what it’s like to listen to music while watching a show in a planetarium where the sound seems to come from everywhere, though no speakers are visible.

With Hitman, the Silver RXW-12 proved its worth by adding just the right amount of weight and speed during the scene of hand-to-hand combat in chapter 10, offering forceful impact with every blow. This scene begins in a train car, with a sword fight that ends up on the tracks themselves. I was thoroughly impressed with how the Silver RXFX surrounds re-created the sounds of multiple swords whooshing through the air at high speed convincingly enough to put me right in the midst of the battle. By this time I was starting to get a clear idea of just how much of an improvement the new tweeters brought to the soundstage. The clang of the swords hitting the rails was brilliantly animated, lasting just long enough as the rails ceased vibrating and the sounds decayed. Every component of the new RX system contributed to make this scene terrifically engrossing.

Having been so captivated by the speed and impact offered through the Silver RXW-12 during Hitman, I moved on to another BD and cued up Roland Emmerich’s The Day After Tomorrow. The improvements wrought by DTS-HD over standard DTS were clearly demonstrated through the Silver RXes, especially in chapter 12, when a helicopter’s rotors freeze in mid-air and the aircraft crashes to the ground. The Silver RX system did a remarkable job of delineating the individual crackling sounds of the ice forming on the blades. The fun continued in chapter 14, when water flooding the city was represented by a deep, continuous rumble emanating from seemingly everywhere. However, I did come to realize that, while forceful and convincing, the Silver RXW-12 is more a finesse subwoofer rather than a mere furniture mover. That’s not to say that it won’t dig deep -- it did -- but you’ll have to play with the volume and EQ settings to find what suits your tastes and your room to get it to sound its best.

Rifling through my movie collection once again, I came across Heat. With a grin on my face and the words oooh ya coming out of my mouth, I selected chapter 31 and watched the famous bank-robbery scene. It could have been the shift to a standard Dolby Digital soundtrack, but with Heat I found the overall sound through the Monitor Audios somewhat richer. This didn’t diminish individual sounds; bullets shattering windows were still cleanly delineated, and gunshots were still presented with excellent scale and impact. What did change was the atmosphere in which the scene was presented. Some of the microdetails were now harder to hear or simply absent, but what was added was a sense of depth and realism. Somehow, these speakers managed to create a more convincing atmosphere from seemingly less detail.

Stacking up

Being one who believes that a well-built, competently designed speaker will perform equally well with music and with movies, I briefly listened to some two-channel material before focusing on multichannel recordings. I cued up “Hotel California,” from the Eagles’ Hell Freezes Over (CD, Geffen GED 24725), and was immediately struck by how well the leading edges of voices and guitars were illustrated through the Silver RX6s. Kick drums had real kick -- I could feel as well as hear the tempo -- and cymbals were precise and immediate while sounding nowhere near too sharp.

When I listened to this track through a pair of Paradigm Special Edition SE 3 speakers ($699 each), it couldn’t have sounded more different. Although the Paradigms articulated percussion instruments equally well, their sound was livelier, brighter, and crisper overall. Cymbals were fast and vivid, pick slides on guitars were more emphasized, and bass, though not as smooth, felt punchier.

But the Paradigms’ slightly more forward nature charmed me for only so long -- as soon as the volume went up, so did all that well-lit detail, which now became a little too bright. By contrast, turning up the volume with the Monitors proved what I later found to be one of the RX6’s most endearing qualities: its ability to play loudly without losing control or becoming the least bit aggressive. Having the Monitors in my system was like replacing my Integra pre-pro with a tube preamp.

With Heat, the Silver RXs’ richer sound was even more apparent. The Paradigm SE 3s presented background details, such as spent bullet casings hitting the ground, more clearly; voices had greater texture; and the bank-robbery scene had a bit more intensity because it seemed louder overall. But the Paradigms lacked the natural atmosphere I’d heard with Monitors, so in the end this may simply be a matter of preference. I preferred the Silver RXs’ more natural sound.

When I watched BDs with hi-rez soundtracks, the differences were far less obvious, especially with The Day After Tomorrow. The helicopter scene was very realistic through the Monitors; the Paradigms seemed to slightly overemphasize the details of the water freezing, as if implying that the rotors, after freezing, would shatter. During Hitman,I experienced much of the same: the swords hitting the railroad tracks sounded fuller and more tonally neutral through the Monitor Audios. The Paradigm SE system, on the other hand, had a more analytical way of presenting these details.

The last Blu-ray I listened to through these speaker systems was Doomsday. The Monitor Audio and Paradigm systems both did excellent jobs, but it wasn’t till I’d watched the narrative presented by Malcolm McDowell in chapter 2 that I discerned what kept drawing me to the Monitor Audio system: I was captivated by the holistic picture this system produced within the soundstage. Listening to McDowell through the Monitors, I tended to focus on his voice, and not on what was going on behind it. I believe this is what director Neil Marshall intended -- as if to convey the feeling of numbness you get when you’re in shock and able to focus on only one thing at a time. Listening to this chapter through the Paradigms, all of the components of this passage are clear and obvious -- the granularity of McDowell’s voice, the faint voices in the background, the crackling of the fires, the many military sounds. Through the Monitors I could still hear all of these things, but the slightly richer sound of McDowell’s voice at dead center of the soundstage, with the rest of the sounds being presented in a more subtle manner, managed to create a very in person experience.

Summing up

Time and again over the past few months I’ve been thoroughly impressed by Monitor Audio’s Silver RX system, and will be sad to see them leave. My experiences of music, and especially of movies, through these speakers have left me with a strong impression: This system has the uncanny ability to make possible an emotional connection to the sounds it reproduces. If you’re in the market for a new home-theater speaker system, or even a pair of stereo speakers that offer a genuine taste of the high end in a classy, high-quality package, you owe it to yourself to give the Silver RX system a serious audition. Highly recommended!

The NAD T 175 audio/video processor, introduced a couple of years ago, is one of NAD’s Modular Design Construction (MDC) components, meaning that its audio and video boards are on removable modules. The new MDC modules for the T 175 now include Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, and Sigma Designs’ advanced VXP video processing. Owners of the original model can upgrade their units simply by buying and installing the new audio and video modules. If NAD keeps releasing new versions of these MDC modules, owners will be able to keep updating their T 175s without having to buy an entirely new A/V processor for quite some time.

Description

The newest T 175 ($2999 USD) is the top of NAD’s line of standard home-theater components, which also includes several MDC surround receivers; the T 175 is their only separate surround processor in that line. The T 175 includes NAD’s most advanced audio module, the AM 200 Dual DSP. In addition to Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, it supports Audyssey’s MultEQ XT room correction, and Dynamic Volume and Dynamic EQ. In addition to Audyssey’s standard and Flat EQ target curves, the T 175 includes NAD’s own target curve, developed by Paul Barton of PSB Speakers. (PSB and NAD are both owned by the Lenbrook Group.) According to Barton, the NAD curve is subtly different from the Audyssey curve in having slightly less high-frequency energy. Barton is well versed in this subject; in the late 1980s, he was involved with the Athena Project at Canada’s National Research Council, which investigated digital signal processing for loudspeakers.

The T 175 also includes Dolby Pro Logic IIx and NAD’s EARS processing, the latter said to add subtle enhancement of the surround ambience present in two-channel recordings. For those who want to adjust the audio settings themselves rather than rely on Audyssey’s automatic calibration, the speaker levels and distances can be set in respective increments of 1dB, and of 1’ or 0.3m. The subwoofer crossover points can be set independently for the front, center, and surround channels from 40 to 200Hz, in increments of 10Hz.

NAD’s VM 200 video module features Sigma Designs’ VXP broadcast-studio-quality video processing. This is a premium video processor, but the T 175 offers only the most basic video adjustments of edge enhancement, noise reduction, brightness, and contrast -- though this did make setup relatively simple and speedy.

The T 175 measures 17”W x 5.75”H x 13.75”D and weighs 17.6 pounds. Its exterior is finished in matte black, with a thick metal faceplate that gives it a solid look and feel. A substantial toroidal transformer can be seen through its top vents. The audio and video inputs, all of them assignable, consist of four HDMI, three component video, three coaxial, and three optical digital audio inputs. Also included are analog stereo audio and composite and S-video inputs, and a single 7.1-channel analog audio input. That last is a direct input with volume control only, and no DSP of the audio signal. Video monitor outputs are available on the composite, S-video, component, and HDMI connections. There are coaxial and optical digital audio outputs, and the AC cord is removable. Additional composite video, S-video, optical, and stereo analog inputs are available on the front panel, along with a headphone jack and an input for a media player or the Audyssey calibration microphone. Up to four listening zones can be configured, and there are options for adding an iPod dock, and XM satellite and DAB radio tuners.

The slim remote control is easy to hold, with a nice heft. It’s backlit, with a handy LCD display that indicates the device currently selected and the last button depressed. It also signals when its batteries are running low. There are even buttons that give direct access to channel levels and the Audyssey MultEQ target curves. This is one of the most functional remote controls for a surround processor from a specialty manufacturer I have ever used.

Setup

One problem I had with the T 175 was what sounded like a clicking relay each time the unit locked to an audio signal. This occurred at the beginnings of Blu-ray Discs or DVDs, when I cycled through multiple trailers and menus, but it also happened whenever I skipped a chapter or track on any video or audio disc. It would even occur between tracks, when I played straight through CDs or SACDs with either the Oppo BDP-83 universal player or the Sony PlayStation 3. This issue was isolated to the digital inputs; it didn’t happen when I used the analog audio inputs.

Performance

The T 175 might have limited options of video adjustment, but its picture quality through the Sigma Designs VXP video processor was outstanding. Native 1080p material from Blu-ray Discs looked immaculate. The plentiful inky blacks in The Dark Knight were beautifully reproduced with superb shadow detail, and outdoor scenes, especially those presented in the 1:78 aspect ratio, had outstanding clarity and detail.

Public Enemies, which was shot in HD video, had an eye-catching and hyperdetailed look. In the final scene in the women’s prison, the bright white background of the prison walls was starkly contrasted with the ruddy complexion of Special Agent Winstead (Stephen Lang). The various shades of gray and the textures of grout on the walls, Winstead’s suit, Billie’s (Marion Cotillard) dress, and her tearful eyes, were striking. In one of the early scenes, as Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) chases Pretty Boy Floyd (Channing Tatum), the detail visible in the lush green vegetation of the fields and orchards was impressive. It was also easy to distinguish the differing weights of material in clothing, such as Purvis’s heavy wool pants and Floyd’s comparatively lightweight suit.

The 480i video signals from standard DVDs also looked excellent through the T 175. Standard-definition CGI animation can look outstanding when properly deinterlaced and upscaled, and it did with the NAD’s VXP processor. Cars,with its bounty of bold primary colors, had plenty of visual pop, and plenty of detail was apparent in the many logos adorning the cars. At times, the bright lighting effects in the desert outside Radiator Springs looked almost like real sunlight. And although it was entirely artificial, there was a sense of dimensionality to the racetrack and stadium in the opening scenes.

Deinterlacing torture tests, such as the “flyover” of the Colosseum in Gladiator, were handled smoothly, as were the empty grandstand seats in the racetrack shots on the Silicon Optix HQV Benchmark DVD. The VXP video processor was able to immediately lock on to the seats with no visible moiré patterning. The “Jaggies Tests” exhibited only a slight wavering in the most extreme portion of the tests. More natural-looking material, as in Ang Lee’s Hulk, looked exceptional. The Hulk himself looked cartoonish and artificial, but the beautiful cinematography and natural lighting of the live-action shots were remarkably smooth and realistic.

Inglourious Basterds looked fantastic on Blu-ray, but the sound quality was even more impressive in DTS-HD Master Audio through the T 175. Giorgio Moroder (music) and David Bowie’s (words) “Putting Out the Fire,” which originally appeared in the soundtrack of another film, Cat People (1982), is used to fantastic effect in this film, and sounded simply stunning. The music was spread effectively among the speakers, and Bowie’s voice was wonderfully lucid through the front speakers. When the actors began speaking, the music was mixed down and pushed into the background, but it was still easily distinguishable, and the dialogue was equally intelligible. The shoot-out in the tavern demonstrated the T 175’s ability to reproduce startling dynamics while maintaining a sense of control and composure so that the sound didn’t become overbearing. Even more noteworthy was the NAD’s ability to capture the aural ambiance of the claustrophobic setting. Background conversations and even an old phonograph sounded as if they were actually taking place in a small basement tavern. The soundtrack of Inglourious Basterds is of reference quality; with the T 175, I was completely immersed in the film’s reality.

Morph the Cat,from Donald Fagen’s Nightfly Trilogy (DVD and CD, Reprise 9362433252), in both 24-bit/96kHz stereo PCM and 5.1-channel DTS, was equally involving. This nearly perfect pop album is reminiscent of Steely Dan’s Gaucho, but unlike that much older recording, Morph has all the richness and highly detailed sound of today’s best hi-rez recordings. In DTS, the silky-smooth vocals on “H Gang” were wonderfully contrasted with occasional jazzy horn riffs, and while the surround channels were very active, there was a nice balance to the soundstage in all directions. In hi-rez stereo PCM, the title track was even better defined and more articulate, though it lacked the surround envelopment of the DTS version. In particular, the bass was deeper and more taut, and the voices sounded even sweeter.

Playing standard-resolution 16/44.1 stereo PCM from CDs or from my laptop through the Trends Audio UD-10.1 USB converter was also very satisfying. There was a dimensionality and smoothness to the sound that reminded me of a really good CD player or dedicated DAC. The piano on Jackson Browne’s “Sky Blue and Black,” from The Next Voice You Hear: The Best of Jackson Browne (CD, Elektra 7559621522), had a fullness, especially in the lower registers, and an unforced quality to Browne’s unhurried singing. The pinpoint imaging of “Lives in the Balance” was appropriately holographic. If, like most people, you have a lot of standard-rez digital stereo recordings, you won’t be disappointed in the T 175’s reproduction of them.

Comparison

The NAD T 175 doesn’t have the multitude of setup options of my reference A/V processor, the Anthem Statement D2, or the Anthem’s high level of transparency -- but neither does it have the much higher price of the D2 ($7499 when available). When I listened to “Heart of Gold,” from Neil Young Archives, Vol.1: 1963-1972 (CD, Reprise 0093624996057), the Anthem was better able to convey a sense of energy from this live recording. There was a darker background, and more smoothness to Young’s harmonica, in addition to an authenticity in his voice, that just sounded more alive. The NAD still sounded excellent with music-only recordings, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to both standard- and hi-rez two-channel recordings through it. Overall, I preferred the sound of the Anthem Statement D2, but considering that the NAD T 175 costs less than half as much, it came surprisingly close.

I preferred NAD’s own EQ curve to Audyssey’s target curve -- it had a bit more bass, and a fuller sound that didn’t sacrifice bass definition. However, the reduced HF energy in the NAD curve, as described by Paul Barton, might explain that perception. “Putting Out the Fire,” from Inglourious Basterds, sounded a little thinner with the Audyssey curve; switching back to the NAD curve resulted in a richer sound with no loss of detail. Even so, the differences were fairly subtle; some might prefer the Audyssey curve, but I commend NAD for providing another option.

I was disappointed by the T 175’s paucity of video adjustments. That said, many users don’t want to contend with complex video adjustments, and won’t use them even if they’re provided. And Sigma Designs’ VXP is still considered one of the best video processors available. With the high-quality ABT processing built into the Oppo BDP-83 and the earlier generation of VXP processing in the Anthem Statement D2, the three components I was comparing had nearly indistinguishable picture qualities. At times I thought the NAD outperformed the Oppo and Anthem in HQV Benchmark’s “Jaggies Tests,” but its scaling and deinterlacing of the standard-def DVD of Cars looked a bit soft. Still, these differences were relatively minor and fleeting; images from all three components looked very good, whether they were processing 480i video from DVDs or simply passing along 1080p signals to my 56” RPTV.

The inclusion of MDC in the T 175 is no insignificant feature. The original T 175 didn’t have VXP video processing, or the ability to decode Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio. Hopefully, NAD will continue to upgrade its MDC modules so that T 175 owners will be able to take advantage of the latest technologies -- such as HDMI 1.4 (which appears to be required for 3D video), or Audyssey DSX or Dolby Pro Logic IIz.

Conclusion

The NAD T 175 may lack some features and flexibility, but it’s still an excellent performer. It includes the latest VXP video processing, and has exceptional sound with both movie soundtracks and music, all for a reasonable price of $2999. Assuming continuing MDC upgrades, the T 175 should remain a solid recommendation well into the future -- something that can’t be said for many other surround-sound processors.

One of the great audio success stories of the past few years is Aperion Audio. The company emerged, seemingly from nowhere, to blow away reviewers and consumers alike with its great-sounding, well-built speakers at surprisingly low prices. Among Aperion’s newer products is its series of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, from which I took on the Intimus 6-IC in-ceiling model ($149 USD each).

Description

The 6-IC is robust -- it feels heavier in the hand than its claimed weight of four pounds would have you think. Included in the speaker’s overall dimensions of 9” diameter by 5” deep are a 6.5” woven-fiberglass mid/woofer, a 1” silk-dome tweeter, a frame to mount both drivers, a crossover, and a pair of binding posts. Aperion claims a (probably generous) frequency response of 50Hz-22kHz, but doesn’t specify to what tolerance (i.e., +1/-3dB). The 6-IC’s sensitivity is specified as 88dB; Aperion recommends a range of amplification of 20-200W.

The Intimus 6-IC’s tweeter isn’t quite coaxial. Mounted on a three-armed support in front of the mid/woofer, it’s angled off to one side rather than pointed straight ahead -- which means its output can be aimed. Simply rotate the entire speaker until the tweeter points at the desired spot, then lock it in place. If that provides too little or too much treble at the sweet spot, the driver’s output can be boosted or attenuated using a sliding switch mounted on the speaker’s frame. An identical switch offers the same boost or cut for the bass driver. Both switches also feature a neutral position.

Setup

Installation involved unboxing the 6-ICs and hooking up some wire. The Intimus is designed to be set into a ceiling, and I’d originally intended to use the pair of them for my A/V receiver’s surround channels. However, I decided that the surround-channel outputs would give me little to base a review on, so I put the speakers to use in my wife’s workout area. There they’d pull full-range duty, and would have to prove their boogie potential before they would be judged acceptable.

Calling our unfinished basement a “workout area” gives the space a classier name than it deserves. The first problem I faced was the fact that there’s no ceiling into which these in-ceiling speakers could be installed -- the only things overhead were exposed floor joists. The space between each pair of joists is 18 inches, and each joist has a lip along its bottom edge. Those lips offered perfect supports from which I could suspend 18”W shelves of medium-density fiberboard (MDF) from Home Depot. The shelves solved my lack of ceiling, and made cutting the holes and installing the speakers dead easy: I could do all the work on a bench, then just install the shelf between the joists.

Aperion includes two cutout templates with each 6-IC, one printed for the purpose, and the other, the cardboard ring that supports the speaker in its box, as a standby. I used the cardboard ring, as it made tracing circles of the right size on the shelf boards easy. Once I had my circle traced, I drilled a starter hole inside the circumference, inserted my jigsaw’s blade, and, about a minute later, had a more or less perfect circle. Installation in a normal ceiling would require less trouble: a simple one-handed drywall saw would make quick work of most ceilings.

It was perfectly fine that my circle wasn’t exactly round; each speaker has an edge lip more than wide enough to hide all but the grossest cutting errors. The holes cut, I inserted the boards between the selected joists and secured them in place with generous helpings of Blu-Tak, which also offered the advantage of isolating each board from the floor structure above. Next I pulled some previously installed Analysis Plus Blue Oval in-wall speaker cable through the hole and, setting the speaker on the top shelf of my stepladder, inserted the cable into the nice-quality binding posts affixed to each Intimus’s crossover circuit board.

I inserted fiberglass insulation into the new ceiling cavity I’d made, to cancel out any standing waves created by the speakers’ backwaves. I also made sure that each tweeter was aimed toward the center of the room. In making the 6-IC easy to install, Aperion fits each speaker with four little swing-out arms that act as compression clamps when a screw is turned. The first twist of the screwdriver forces the arms out into position (they remain tucked in to ease the insertion of the speaker into the hole), and each subsequent turn causes the arm to clamp down on the ceiling from the inside. I tightened the four arm clamps on each 6-IC and noted with satisfaction that both speakers were clamped tightly in place. All that remained was to put in place the metal mesh covers. Total installation time for both speakers: about 30 minutes.

System

For this review I dug out my old friend, Blue Circle Audio’s CS integrated amplifier. Not wanting to give up the Simaudio Moon CD3.3 in my main system, I paired the CS with an NAD C 515BEE CD player. Interconnecting duties were performed by TARA Labs’ RSC; the speaker cables were Analysis Plus Blue Oval. Anyone installing speakers in walls or ceilings would do well to use purpose-designed and certified speaker cable. No one wants to find out from their insurance agent that fire damage isn’t covered because a non-spec speaker cable shorted out inside a wall.

Sound

Speakers installed in a wall or ceiling are at a natural disadvantage to their enclosed cousins: They lack the benefit of a cabinet designed to get the best out of them. With that in mind, and given the Intimus 6-IC’s low price, I set my expectations fairly low. I couldn’t expect such speakers to perform miracles.

My initial reaction to the 6-IC was that the treble was too hot, the bass fairly weak. I therefore set the equalization switches to boost the bass and cut the treble, then left the speakers to cook over the course of a weekend. After that, the speakers had clearly broken in, so I started playing reference tracks while applying some coats of shellac to a woodworking project.

Now that they’d been run in, I noticed that each Intimus 6-IC had a much more integrated sound than before, when it seemed as if woofer and tweeter were having nothing to do with each other. The bass response tightened up nicely but was still on the weak side. There was, of course, no faulting the speaker for this -- a 6.5” mid/woofer can do only so much in that department. When I played recordings of sax-piano-drum jazz trios, the 6-IC didn’t sound as if it lacked anything much, especially at background listening levels. Lower volume settings were also well suited to reproducing pop and rock.

But when Mrs. Smith works out, she wants volume and pounding bass, two areas where the 6-IC’s weaknesses showed. Madonna’s Music (CD, Warner Bros.47598), a workout favorite, was reproduced cleanly and pleasingly from the midbass up at a volume level that would preclude normal conversation, but there was no flesh on the low-bass bone. Again, I’d expected this; it represents not a performance flaw, but an inherent limitation of this type of speaker.

Things improved when I hooked up a Revel Concerta B120 subwoofer. With the bottom octaves now fully present, I found it much easier to enjoy the really quite good midrange and treble performance of the 6-IC. Male and female voices were clear, with no signs of congestion or shouting. Imaging wasn’t at all bad, considering the fact that the speakers were placed well above my ears -- but, for the same reason, the soundstage was a bit out of whack. Still, the 6-IC was good enough that I didn’t find myself wanting to switch back to conventional speakers at the first opportunity.

Comparison

Having no other in-ceiling speakers to compare the 6-IC with, I had little choice but to pit it, admittedly unfairly, against a box speaker: the Mordaunt-Short Carnival2 ($299/pair). And though I couldn’t exactly A/B the M-S and Aperion models, I did have my experience of hearing in-ceiling speakers in other homes to fall back on.

I can’t provide makes or models, but I can say that most other in-ceiling speakers I’ve heard have sounded awful. I’m not talking about the kind of industrial speakers used in stores or elevators, but those found in kitchens and bedrooms across the land, which often sound thin, tinny, and distorted -- nowhere near hi-fi. However, the 6-IC was hi-fi. It made music sound like music, not like screeches emerging from a rusty tin can.

The 6-ICs offered a much more enveloping sound than the Mordaunt-Short Carnival2s, limited as the latter were to a terrestrial mounting. For the same reason, the Carnival2s projected a more realistic soundstage (music tending to be performed in a down-to-earth fashion), and could produce more substantial bass than the 6-IC, which I noticed most with kick drum. I thought the 6-IC more accurate in the midbass; the Carnival2 lacked some definition around the 60Hz level, which tended to make bass-guitar notes blend together. It was an honest draw between the soft-dome tweeters in each model, with no glaring errors or omissions to note.

Conclusion

As surround or background-music speakers, Aperion Audio’s Intimus 6-IC is a winner. I would never suggest that the 6-ICs replace conventional loudspeakers in a conventional system, but then the 6-IC was never intended to be all things to all people. Keeping its inherent limitations in mind, I can say that the Aperion Intimus 6-IC is a most satisfying in-ceiling loudspeaker.

The home-electronics industry is a greatly competitive one that offers a plethora of products to the merciless scrutiny of the consumer. So how does a company competing in such an industry persuade consumers to purchase their products? By offering excellent performance at affordable prices. This is the philosophy adopted by Polk Audio, and by adhering to it over the years, have transformed their name into one widely recognized for quality and performance. So when I was approached to review a Polk Audio RTi-series home-theater speaker system, I was intrigued to see and hear what they could do.

I was sent four RTi A1 bookshelf speakers ($339.95 USD per pair), a CSi A4 center-channel speaker ($279.95 each), and a DSW Pro 400 subwoofer ($449.95), all but one finished in handsome real-wood cherry veneer (the subwoofer is painted black). The RTi A1 is the only speaker I know of that sports real-wood finishes at so low a price. (It’s also available in black ash.) List price for the system, as described, is $1409.80.

Underneath that wonderful cherry veneer are five more layers of viscous laminate that comprise the non-rectilinear shape of each speaker. In all five of their RTi A models, Polk employs what they call Damped Asymmetric Hex Laminate Isolation (DAHLI), a cabinet design that reportedly results in a stronger, stiffer, more acoustically inert enclosure. As well, all RTi speakers have gold-plated five-way connection posts spaced far enough apart to make hooking up speaker cables a breeze, regardless of method.

RTi A1

The RTi A1 is a magnetically shielded, dual-ported, two-way speaker with a 1” silk/polymer-composite dome tweeter and a 5.25” polymer/mineral-composite mid/woofer. The technologies developed by Polk for the RTi series are many for a speaker at this price. In addition to the DAHLI system mentioned above, Polk Dynamically Balances and Klippel Optimizes their speakers. What this means in English is that, in an effort to reduce or eliminate factors that deleteriously color the sound, they microscopically observe the operation of each component of each speaker. Along with this, Klippel Optimization makes sure the speaker will perform well at both low and high volumes, to offer a balanced yet dynamic performance.

Once Polk was satisfied with the driver and cabinet designs, they turned their focus to the ports, in an effort to ensure that the air moving in and out of them did so quietly and smoothly, and that the bass output was maximized with a minimum of distortion. This they accomplished in two ways, first by using a unique rear-firing port that Polk calls the PowerPort -- essentially, a long, flared port with a dispersing cone mounted just past its outer end. This reduces turbulence in the air exiting the port, thereby diminishing noise, or “chuffing,” while providing deeper, cleaner, more authoritative bass.

The front port, just below the mid/woofer, uses a technology Polk calls Acoustic Resonance Control (ARC), which takes advantage of the internal resonance created by the driver’s backwave. Polk matches the frequency of this resonance with the front port’s tuning frequency. Because the port’s and the cabinet’s internal resonances are thus the same but out of phase, the peak resonances within the cabinet are canceled, resulting, Polk claims, in a more natural sound, with lower midrange distortion.

All of these technologies combine in this little bookshelf -- it measures only 12"H x 7.375"W x 11.5” D -- to help it reach as deep as 60Hz, -3dB, while maintaining an efficiency rating of 89dB.

CSi A4

The CSi A4 center-channel speaker, designed to partner the RTi speakers, is, in my opinion, the jewel of the quintet, especially considering its price of $279.95. Measuring a modest 20"W x 6.875"H x 8.75” D, the CSi A4 uses the same 1” silk/polymer-composite dome tweeter as the RTi A1, along with much of the same technology and components, but differs in having two 5.25” drivers. The CSi A4 doesn’t dig quite as deep as the RTi A1 but comes close, with a claimed frequency response of 65Hz-26kHz, -3dB, and the same claimed efficiency of 89dB. The CSi A4 has only one set of speaker terminals on its rear panel, which prevents biwiring, and vents via a single front-firing ARC port. It seemed to work -- the CSi A4 exhibited an almost complete lack of boxiness.

Also contributing to that lack of boxiness is the contoured top of the cabinet, whose shape creates an asymmetrical internal space to help eliminate resonances there, but also gives the listener the option of flipping the speaker upside down and placing it on the floor, so that the driver axes point up, toward the listener. Whether placed atop or below my display, voices sounded clear and concise through the CSi A4, with lifelike presence. The off-axis sound, too, was excellent.

DSW 400 Pro subwoofer

Keeping in mind that flexibility of setup is key in a system of small bookshelf models such as this, Polk offers three subwoofers that mate well with the RTi series, yet occupy little floor space. Included with the review system was the smallest of the three, the DSW Pro 400 powered subwoofer ($449.95 each), whose digital amplifier, Polk claims, puts out 360W peak to drive its single 8” composite polypropylene cone down to 30Hz, -3dB. Measuring just 14.625"H x 13.75"W x 13.75"D, the DSW Pro 400 takes up less than two cubic feet of space, and can be oriented so that its cone fires either downward or to the front.

To my disappointment, Polk’s three DSW-series subs don’t share the RTi and CSi series’ high-quality real-wood veneers. Instead, they’re finished in an attractive flat black that’s sure to fit any décor (it can be painted). Under the finish is an extensively braced cabinet of MDF with a slot-loaded port.

Around back are two pairs of line-level inputs, an LFE input, a low-pass filter adjustment, an On/Off/Auto switch, and two pairs of five-way binding posts. To control the remaining adjustments and setup options, Polk has included a fantastic remote control, the size of a credit card, that I found so easy and intuitive to use that opening the manual to complete the setup proved unnecessary. Other than basic power and volume control, the remote lets you switch among four phase positions in 90-degree increments, from 0 to 270 degrees.

Depending on the size of the room and the sub’s location in it, the DSW Pro 400 offers a choice of four equalization settings: Corner, Cabinet, Mid Wall, or Mid Room. I found this approach refreshingly straightforward and very effective: you simply select the appropriate position, and the DSW Pro 400 optimizes itself with preset slopes to provide the best performance possible from its position.

Setup

I set up the Polk system in my 13’ x 25’ listening room with the front speakers sitting on a pair of 24”-tall speaker stands, each 1’ from the front wall and from the side of my TV cabinet. The rears were placed on 30” speaker stands about 1’ to the side and behind my couch, and the sub midwall, roughly 2’ from the right front speaker. Power was provided via a Rotel RSX-1058 A/V receiver delivering 75Wpc through River Cable Flexygy 8 speaker cables, and all source material was played by a Denon DVD-5910CI DVD player via River Cable Audioflex Gold Plus analog and HDMI cables. After positioning the DSW Pro 400 subwoofer to fire downward and taking about five seconds to set it up, I toed-in all four RTi A1s about 15 degrees toward my listening position and was ready to go.

Movies and music

I was eager to hear if the RTi A1 system’s performance would match its outstanding build quality, and I wasn’t disappointed. One thing I love about small, well-built bookshelf speakers is their uncanny ability to image and “disappear” from room, system, and sound. For the most part, the Polks did just that. When playing chapter 29of James Cameron’sAliens, in which the team attempts to draw the aliens toward them by directing them down two corridors, into an ambush of automated machine guns, the RTi A1s did an excellent job of conveying intensity, displaying surprisingly good dynamic range and decent midbass punch for such small speakers. This was evident with each shot the machine guns fired down the corridors, and by the sheer volume of what was going on. The DSW Pro 400 did a great job of conveying impact with each shot, while never making me aware that it was 2’ outside the “circle” described by the five non-sub speakers. Detail from both the RTi A1s and the CSi A4 was clean and well defined yet never brash, as some smaller systems can sound when pushed to higher volumes.

When I watched chapter 11of The Descent, the RTi A1s worked together to convincingly reproduce the aural experience of being in a cave -- I could hear water trickling down walls around and behind me, even though I was much more focused on watching the spelunkers trying to cross the underground crevasse. I was also very pleased with the performance from the center channel with this film’s soundtrack. Most of the characters have thick accents that can be difficult to understand unless heard clearly, especially when they’re talking fast or screaming in fear, yet the CSi A4 did an admirable job of articulating every word. In fact, voices -- quiet or loud, male or female -- were lucid and concise from every source signal I fed the CSi A4. Although the center-channel speaker is timbrally perfectly matched to the RTi A1s, it was so tonally correct that it could easily be used in a system with higher-end speakers.

The Polks’ dynamic, hard-hitting sound made watching action movies a particular treat. No matter what I played, the speakers always seemed to beg for more, as if to say, “Go for it -- we can take it.” In chapter 21 of Transformers,a battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron, the Polks’ dynamic nature paid dividends: explosions had smooth yet taut bass from the DSW Pro 400, and ample detail and texture from the RTi A1s and CSi A4. Each time a piece of concrete, stone, or glass was smashed to bits, The RTi A1s did a terrific job of providing the impending crack on impact, and also of resolving the intricate sounds of the stone or glass crumbling, and the pieces hitting the ground.

The RTi A1s and CSi A4 also presented transients with momentum and precision. In chapter 8 ofDaredevil, when the Daredevil is brawling with a criminal in a grungy pub, the camera floats through the air as various sounds are highlighted on the soundtrack -- background music, overlapping voices, bullet casings hitting the floor -- even as a consistent sound picture is retained of what’s happening front and center. All of these sounds started and stopped very quickly, yet all were presented clearly enough to be understood -- a perfect example of just how well the Polk speakers could work together to create a holistic theater experience.

The DSW Pro 400 didn’t offer the lowest octaves or highest volume levels that I was hoping for. This was no doubt partially due to my slightly large room; most people with a room my size would probably choose Polk’s larger, more powerful DSW Pro 500 or even the DSW Pro 600.

What the DSW Pro 400 did deliver was a bulletproof confidence toward movies and music, yielding smooth, controlled, punchy bass while seamlessly integrating its sound into that of the rest of the system. In fact, when listening to two-channel material, I found the DSW Pro 400 quite musical, especially with jazz and blues. “Cold Cold Heart,” from Nora Jones’s Come Away with Me (CD, Capitol 5 32088 2), was quite enjoyable through the RTis plus DSW Pro 400. Voices were vivid yet smooth, sounding slightly forward. Bass-guitar plucks had a lingering finish that added a nice richness to the music, and piano notes seemed to hang in the air longer than I’d expected them to.

Conclusion

Polk Audio has built another quality product at an affordable price. The RTi A1s not only looked brilliant in their real-wood veneer, they offered plenty of detail, control, and excellent dynamics, which all came together to reproduce multichannel source signals with an invitingly three-dimensional soundstage. The CSi A4 further upped the ante with a sound almost entirely free of coloration, clear and articulate and devoid of any dreaded boxiness. Rounding out the system was the DSW Pro 400, which, when used in a room of appropriate size, proved to be a good, easy-to-use subwoofer that excelled with music and movies alike.

Put it all together and you have a true winner that deserves to be auditioned by anyone looking for a killer entry-level home-theater speaker system.

There’s an old story from the 1950s about President Eisenhower touring one of the first rooms to house a large mainframe computer. The electronic behemoth rang and whistled and flashed, and the head computer scientist challenged the President to ask it a question, any question at all. Eisenhower thought for a moment, then said, “Computer, is there a god?” More bells and whistles and flashing, and out spat a card with the computer’s answer: “There is now.”

Naim Audio’s Uniti ($3795 USD) hasn’t quite been sent from the heavens, but it marks an evolution -- and a revolution -- in audio engineering. Its acceptance of and reliance on computer technology, as well as its complete refutation of the idea that separate components make the best audio system, mark a sea change in high-end audio.

The Uniti combines Naim’s Nait 5i integrated amplifier and CD5i CD player, adds an FM tuner (no AM), and is enabled for Internet access, opening up the listening possibilities to a computer-based music server and Internet Radio.

Were this all it could handle, it would be impressive enough, but the Uniti is just getting started -- it’s outfitted to connect to a home network and play audio files stored on UPnP drives, and also plays audio files stored on USB memory sticks.

Description

The Uniti measures a standard 23.25”W x 9.5”H x 19.75”D and weighs 25 pounds. It retains Naim’s trademark look and sophisticated styling: subtly textured, sharply cornered black metal. In the left third of the faceplate is Naim’s trademark CD drawer: to open it, you pinch a handle and pull it out in an arc. Below that are a mini-stereo input (it accepts analog and digital plugs), a mini-headphone socket, and a USB port. In the center is Naim’s logo, which glows green when the Uniti is powered up, and on the right are the display, and a pad of buttons that nearly repeat the functionality of the remote control.

It’s hardly surprising that any Naim product embodies high-end design standards. Their aesthetic speaks class, and imparts the look and feel of quality. Many power amps weigh twice as much as the Uniti (you can put a brick in a Sony receiver and it, too, would be heavy). But the Uniti is rock solid: I could have sworn it weighed more than its 25 pounds. Its rubber feet make it nearly impossible to budge even slightly, and I can’t imagine it being the slightest bit susceptible to vibration.

Of course, the foundation of the Uniti is the Nait 5i, an integrated amplifier that has remained at the top of its class through many iterations; its 50Wpc into 8 ohms or 90Wpc into 4 ohms should be more than enough to power all but the most ornery speakers. Naim supplies European-style speaker inputs that, in the spirit of safety, accept only banana plugs (no spades, lugs, or bare wire allowed).

Also on the rear panel are the power-cord socket and main power switch. This switch is the only way to turn the Uniti off, so it must remain accessible to the user. Also on the back are sockets for the supplied WiFi antenna or a network cable, and an iPod dock connection that runs off Naim’s n-Link iPod connector cable ($150). There are two five-pin DIN sockets for Naim preamps (the Uniti lacks a dedicated phono stage), subwoofer outputs, a line out, a socket for an FM aerial (not supplied), three standard analog and four digital inputs, and a few other features that are unique to Naim systems.

The Uniti isn’t a simple plug-and-play component, but initial setup took about 30 minutes without my having to read too far into the manual (available online). There are a lot of settings to scroll through via the remote control, but if most users are like me, they’ll find that few of the Uniti’s default settings will need to be changed, the notable exceptions being configuring the network connection and adjusting the front-panel display. More ambitious users can customize the Uniti as much as is imaginable. There are ten input options alone, as well as options for the speaker (subwoofer) and headphone outputs (the headphones respond to their own volume setting, separate from the loudspeakers), and options for customizing CD playback, such as Auto Play and Auto Select. You can even reprogram the keys on the remote, a task that seems reserved for those whose obsessive-compulsiveness might need professional attention.

The Uniti was remarkably skilled at finding the wireless network in my home, a process that, outside my home, is almost always mysterious and too often hit-or-miss. Usually I get to “Select Network” and hope for the best. The Uniti obliterated any frustrations by performing as expected, simply requesting my network password (entered via the remote), and connecting when confirmed.

The display can be programmed to illuminate for anywhere from ten seconds to an hour. Heat -- of which the Uniti generates a significant amount -- is bad for the display, so keeping the display on for more than an hour at a stretch would be unwise. Fortunately, the blank display comes back to life whenever the remote is used (or simply if you press the Disp key). The remote is essential to the Uniti’s operation, even if the buttons on the front panel perform the same tasks: the Uniti, meant to be engaged from a distance, isn’t really a hands-on machine. Thankfully, Naim has designed a slim, sleek, solid plastic remote that is substantial and weighty without being the least bit clunky, and that balances comfortably in the hand.

The Uniti took the place of my NAD C 325BEE integrated amplifier, the Oppo Digital DV-970H DVD player I’ve been using to play CDs, the Tivoli radio I’ve been using as a tuner, my NAD iPod dock, and all the interconnects that link that system. It also at least postponed my desire to acquire a standalone Internet table radio. Consider that: The Uniti upgraded and replaced four beloved components and their cables -- and added the riches of the Internet -- in one fell swoop. And it has the ability to change with the changing digital times with features I didn’t readily need to use.

Sound and functionality

At this point, the reputation of Naim’s Nait line of integrated amplifiers is beyond reproach. Silky-smooth throughout the entire audioband, they’re responsible for the captivatingly clean and endlessly satisfying musical reproduction delivered by the Uniti, whatever input was selected. The NAD C 325BEE is a respectable, workmanlike amp more admired for its bang for the buck than for its nuance, subtlety, or refinement. These qualities, however, are exactly what the Nait 5i is known for. On the other hand, it costs three to four times the NAD’s price. But even on its own, the Nait might just be worth it.

The Nait 5i brought out the best from whatever it played. I loaded disc 3 of King of the Blues, which covers B.B. King’s career from his rawly recorded early tracks through the slick, heavily produced work of the 1980s and early ’90s (MCA MCAD-D4-10677). “Chains and Things,” however, comes from his commercial and, arguably, artistic apotheosis in the mid- to late 1960s, and in the tray of the CD5i section of the Uniti, there was clear separation among B.B.’s stinging embellishments, his controlled, slightly desperate vocals, and the bedrock backbeat laid down by his band. My reference speakers are a set of B&W 303s -- well-balanced bookshelf monitors that don’t go terribly low (due to obvious size limitations) but do exceptionally well with voices, and generally get the midrange just right. The combo of CD5i and Nait 5i was able to go just a little bit lower than my NAD-Oppo pairing, and took me a bit by surprise. “The Thrill Is Gone” delivered drama and gravitas, the strings accounting for the emotional highs, while the slightly richer, fuller, more enveloping bass kept B.B.’s lament grounded in a reality that was all too present. Using the Uniti to play CDs gave me a top-of-the-line feeling I never quite get from my solid but entry-level gear. The proof was not just in my mind but in my ears.

These days, much of my CD playing is done for product auditions. I confess that the listening I do for pleasure is almost always to Apple Lossless files via my 80GB iPod. Hooking up an MP3 player to an integrated amplifier has become common practice (the front-panel audio input offered with the NAD C 325BEE was the main reason I upgraded from the NAD 320). I jacked into the Uniti with a simple Belkin mini-to-mini patch cord, put the player on Shuffle, and let it rip. Pink Floyd’s “The Great Gig in the Sky,” from Dark Side of the Moon (CD, Capitol C2 81479), was resolved and detailed, and its bits and pieces -- the soaring, moaning voice, the delicate piano, the drums -- added up to a great, soulful whole. The Uniti dug deeper than the professional sheen Floyd is famous for; it plumbed the music’s depths.

“New York State of Mind” may be Billy Joel’s greatest, most versatile song. Its fine craftsmanship resists oversinging, and Joel’s own version was brash and knowing, the Uniti able to get just a little wistful along with the singer-songwriter. The Uniti’s spatial cues were right on target: each musical element -- Joel’s voice out front, the drums giving the song height, the sax first recessed and then coming forward -- was clearly delineated and crisp without being antiseptic.

The Uniti’s front-panel input behaves as any other: the iPod was the source, and the device itself controlled its internal organization. Shuffle play can be as seductive as an online session of World of Warcraft,the hours vaporizing in a cloud of random segues, the listener hanging on for another three or four minutes, over and over, to find out what might come next. Unfortunately, without the benefit of a dock connection, the iPod inevitably runs its battery down. The Uniti’s n-Link cable charges the iPod, but also takes over navigation. You can’t search through your playlists, tracks, albums, and songs as you would with the iPod’s click wheel, but instead you can use the Uniti’s handset and display to monitor your progress. I was disappointed, however, when I couldn’t seem to retain the random sequence I’d begun while away from home. I could Shuffle songs in total, but I couldn’t Shuffle by playlist, at least not without starting over. I would have preferred to avoid repeating songs I’d already heard.

CDs may be disappearing from my life, daily replaced by a larger iTunes database, but the feature that makes the Uniti a revolutionary product is its ability to stream Internet Radio. And not just stream it, mind you, but stream it in the sort of high-quality sound you experience in its more “traditional” modes of music making.

Once the Uniti is connected to a network, wireless or otherwise, the world is suddenly available at the tip of a thumb. Navigating with the Uniti’s handset is plain, simple, and straightforward. The iRadio menu offers Genre, Location, Podcasts by Location, and Podcasts by Genre. Searching by Location funnels to Continent and Region, then to Country, then by Stations within that country: conventional radio stations that broadcast over the Internet as well as Internet-only offerings. Japan, Poland, Nigeria, Argentina, Nebraska -- you name it. There are more than 300 choices in New York State alone. The mind boggles.

I jumped from the BBC to techno from Tokyo, to “Smoke on the Water” and similar rock classics on Cyber FM, to the Texas Tornados on Tucson’s KXCI. Internet Radio is not for those inclined to attention-deficit disorder. (The Uniti’s 40 presets will help you focus your choices.) The sound was as reliable as FM or CD, better than adequate in even the most obscure case, and a stake through the heart of terrestrial broadcasting. My Tivoli AM/FM tuner is officially on notice. Come to think of it, so is my TV. Who has time to watch television when thousands and thousands of songs and voices are available to be uncovered by the Uniti?

Conclusion

Not only does Naim innovate with the excellence of its integrated amplifier and CD technology, their engineers have delivered a remarkably versatile all-in-one integrated amplifier system that suits the age of consolidation as well as the age of the Internet. The Uniti is upscale -- in appearance, in sound, and, let’s be fair, in price.

To spend $3795 on a Uniti is a lifestyle choice, a cliché commonly misapplied but here apt. The Uniti is not for the casual listener. It simply has too much to offer not to be used and loved for all it can do, no matter how attractive or appealing its package, or how enticing the idea of a single component taking the place of four or five boxes and their attending cables.

The Uniti, a pair of speakers designed for 50Wpc of power, and a set of solid speaker cables terminated in banana plugs, and you have a state-of-the-art sound system that begs to be a way of life.

I’ve owned power amps and preamps, rack systems and receivers, turntables and CD changers, and more radios than I can remember. The Naim Uniti, however, is a component for listening in 2010, with an eye and an ear to 2020. Sure, it plays CDs and plays them well, but the Uniti’s real benefits -- its integration with the Apple iPod and its ability to stream Internet Radio -- render everything else redundant at best, and at worst, obsolete.